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irnbraw · 4 years ago

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On the Need to Preserve Freely Spoken Words in Scotland

Scotland is slowly boiling to death - like the proverbial frog in the pan of simmering water. Our civic life is already damaged to such an extent that Scotland seems more like Northern Ireland than the rest of the UK now. To which we can now also see the methodical disassembling of facts, history, free-speech and freedoms of person, belief and action.

The SNP is fundamentally illiberal. (See all the preceding pages of this blog). It, like all cultish entities, has a Dogma to which ALL must be sacrificed. Truth, facts, friends, even family. Nothing is more sacred than Dogma so public ethics, accountability, transparency, honesty - any and all can be safely and comfortably dispensed with if Dogma is furthered and the transcending goal of Dogma is advanced.

Into this vortex of lies have wandered a number of persons who are not a perfect fit. They are those who have failed to have their own moral compass overwritten. Certain people who, when they encounter corruptions or abuses of power at the highest levels do not look the other way - or mutter to themselves something about ‘the end justifying the means’.

This is alas rare - but therefore significant. One such instance is when avowed separatist, ‘progressive’, a scion of the Scottish nationalist cause - someone at the core of that maelstrom: Robin McAlpine - saw and experienced at first hand the kind of corrosive corruption that the SNP is now disintegrating Scotland with, he spoke up.

McAlpine was Director of “Common Weal” a social issues ‘think tank’, dedicated to the progressives’ view of a separate Scotland. But he is that no longer. For when he stopped in his tracks and lamented the detrimental impact of secretive, conspiratorial nationalist power (by penning a 3,000 word article)* he was invited to step down.

Given the direction in which Scotland currently drifts, aided by Covid and an overly sentimentalist and un-critical population, I believe the essay that caused the former Director’s downfall may not long survive. Therefore, I have copied and pasted it here.

Not much is now, in reality, safe in the hands of Big Tech. The clarion warnings of Rand, Huxley, Orwell and Bradbury have already been rendered moot by our illiberal and autocratic governments combined with the mob mentality of ‘wokeism’. So even reprinting here is no guarantee of anything. But we must all make an effort, and this small bit is my contribution to preserving words freely spoken in Scotland - while that is still a thing.

- Here is the Article -

(link to the original blog-post is above)*

THIS TIME almost exactly two years ago I sat in a cafe close to Holyrood in a state of what I can only call shock. The enormity of what I’d just heard was sinking in; over the preceding nearly three hours I’d been introduced to all the gory detail of the plot against Alex Salmond. The last two years has at times been surreal for me as a result.

To explain what I am going to write next I need to tell you something about my fundamental beliefs. I have worked close to the power of government my whole life. I have studied and read widely on power. I am also a strong believer in social change.

Everything I have seen has driven me to the same conclusion; nothing is more important than integrity in public life. That may seem anachronistic to some (given modern political culture) and not particularly left-wing. But the positive change I want cannot be built on anything but the firmest of foundations; when corruption or misuse of power creeps into those foundations, nothing good can be built on them.

Some on the right of politics are anti-state and for them a discredited public realm has its uses. For the left, nothing good ever, ever comes from it.

There is no doubt in my mind that there was and is a coordinated plan of action created by a powerful group of people, developed and executed in secret but using public resources, all with the sole purpose of forcing a perceived opponent out of public life in Scotland.

I then have no doubt that when this plan was at risk of collapsing and exposing those who perpetrated it, they instigated a wide-ranging cover up. My suspicion is that it was not initially the intention to seek to jail Salmond, and that this was a result of an escalation to distract attention as part of the cover-up operation. Yet that is the direction in which this plan proceeded, nonetheless.

There is no greater abuse of power than to use it arbitrarily to remove someone’s liberty. This is absolutely not the ‘rough and tumble’ of politics. It has no place in Scotland. None.

At this stage I need to make some more things clear. This is no longer anything to do with Alex Salmond, his reputation, his career or his future. He was investigated thoroughly, tried in a court of law and acquitted of all charges. It is worth adding that he was not acquitted because his actions were ‘dodgy’ yet failed to meet the threshold of criminality but because the jury believed his defence that none of them happened.

It is not about contentious political issues such as independence or the Gender Reform Act. It is not about crucial social and cultural debates such as the Me Too movement. I am open that I believe Nicola Sturgeon has run a poor administration and has repeatedly misled the independence movement in a way that has harmed our chances of independence. But it’s not about that either.

Nor am I any kind of Alex Salmond fan-boy. This is not about a personal squabble or some ‘psychodrama’. It certainly isn’t some spurious debate about ‘civic’ versus ‘populist’ nationalism. The sheer volume of dust being thrown up to obscure what this is really about is in itself telling.

So you must clear your mind of all of these issues and focus on the sole and single issue this is about; are there people in a position of power in Scotland who misused that power in a manner which makes them unfit to hold office or employment? (If this gives you difficulty, perhaps remove the names and think in terms of ‘Politician A’ and ‘Civil Servant B’.)

In what follows I will try, carefully and without emotive language, to take you through how I reached my conclusions. I will seek very hard to only state as fact things that are public record, and to make absolutely clear where I am introducing my own opinion and analysis.

(There are far, far too many references to include throughout as this relates to thousands of disclosed government papers available here. Gordon Dangerfield has gone through many of those forensically on his blog here. I know there are strong views about Wings Over Scotland but that is the best place to find a number of documents which are redacted elsewhere. I have never at any point had access to nor specific knowledge of material not in the public domain but have broad awareness of what it is believed to indicate.)

But yes, I am of the decided view that people in a position of power in Scotland misused that power in a manner which is not acceptable. I believe that it started when a complaints procedure was created and designed to target a specific individual and pushed through over strong objections from the UK civil service.

In a position of power, you should never create laws or procedures for a purpose related to the pursuit of an individual; it represents a gross misuse of those powers.

I am of the decided view that the same people merged this process with the ‘grooming’ of complainants against the same individual, and on this a ruling of the Court of Session strongly suggests I am correct.

There are then too many details concerning the fundamentally improper manner in which this complaints process was subsequently pursued to cover here, but it is all documented and will reach the public domain eventually. This too was a gross abuse of power.

It seems that at this point, those behind these actions became aware of their risk of exposure as a result of legal arguments they had become aware of, and I believe this is when the cover-up began.

The first crucial element of this cover-up was for the most senior of government politicians to arrange a meeting to discuss sensitive government business at her house, seemingly deliberately doing so with the express intent of excluding civil servants from documenting this meeting and then subsequently, when caught, to knowingly and repeatedly to mislead parliament about that meeting. I believe this is confirmed by existing information in the public domain.

I then believe that, aware their position was coming into substantial jeopardy, the participants in this operation sought to move the focus away from their actions by escalating the matter to a criminal one by reporting information to the police, information they had access to for at least six months previously but did not act on (done against the wishes of the complainants).

... seeking to jail someone for political expediency is something I did not believe I would see in Scotland in my lifetime. Pause must be taken here to take in the enormity of this ...

At this point we have moved into the territory of the kind of behaviour we seldom see in western Europe. Certainly, seeking to jail someone for political expediency is something I did not believe I would see in Scotland in my lifetime. Pause must be taken here to take in the enormity of this.

As part of that process, I believe that a leak of information which is probably criminal in nature was carried out from within the office of the politician and on this the investigation of the Information Commissioner’s Office strongly suggests I am correct. I do not believe that it is feasible this happened without the authorisation of the politician (though I am aware of no hard evidence for this).

The affair now moves into two strands. The first involves continued efforts to cover up what has happened through the repeated failure to produce documents, even in the face of a Court Warrant, and in this a judge at the Court of Session concurs (on fact, not motive). This appears to be, on the face of it, contempt of court.

This also involves what I believe appears to be pressure exerted on Government lawyers to misrepresent facts in court up to the point where they threatened to resign (this latter point is public record).

The Scottish Government continued this behaviour in the face of at least one (and probably more) legal opinion that it would be ruled against but only admitted fault when more damaging material appeared to be about to be exposed. The ruling on the part of the Judge in this case was damning and the award made was extraordinarily harsh on the Scottish Government.

From there the cover-up, I believe, is fairly apparent, ranging from refusing to reveal legal advice to doing everything possible to avoid document disclosure to creating the remit of inquiries deliberately designed to prevent proper investigation of what has happened to repeatedly evasive and factually incorrect evidence given to a Parliamentary Committee.

The second strand involved the criminal case, and while there was some crossover of participants this was pursued largely by the apparatus of the political party of which the politician is a member. Much less of this evidence is currently publicly available, so I will restrict myself to saying that staff of that party appeared to have sought to maximise the number of complaints and put pressure on the police.

These two strands recombine during the resultant criminal trial, where there may be a case to be made that the repeated refusal to produce relevant documents represents an attempt to pervert the course of justice and contribute to the imprisonment of a man by withholding evidence relevant to his defence.

Perhaps the pinnacle of this for me is the testimony of Woman H, by far the most serious of the charges presented (attempted rape). Here the prosecution led no properly admissible evidence that she was even in the building where the alleged attempted rape took place. The defence led multiple pieces of evidence including reliable eye-witness testimony that she was never there.

The circumstances around this testimony are deeply concerning and it seems to be clear perjury. I can’t comment any more, but for me it sums up this whole sorry affair.

I haven’t even mentioned what I find to be the difficult-to-understand decision by the Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service to bring this case to court, nor its (for me) subsequent chilling pursuit of supporters of the man tried. I also have some concerns about what I know of the actions of the police. The role of some publicly-funded agencies and the publicly-funded BBC in the aftermath only contribute to my unease.

There is so much more, so much that will come out and this will be worse still than what you’ve seen so far.

There is so much more, so much that will come out and this will be worse still than what you’ve seen so far. The damage I believe this is likely to do to confidence in the conduct of public life in Scotland is substantial.

That the politician is Nicola Sturgeon, the man Alex Salmond, the civil servants a group surrounding Leslie Evans and the party officials a group surrounding Peter Murrell (husband of Sturgeon) should play no part in affecting the details I have set out above.

I have never in my life called for someone to resign. If they should be fired, they should be fired; but resignation should be a matter of honour, so calling for it seems futile to me. But I can see no circumstances in which it should be acceptable for Nicola Sturgeon to remain in office. Any one of half a dozen the above acts perpetrated by a member of Boris Johnson’s cabinet would have the SNP demanding their head.

From there it seems to me to be a question only of how many of the civil servants and paid officials of the SNP should be sacked for misconduct. Some of the civil servants seem to me clearly to need to face contempt of court proceedings and there are a number of people involved who seem to me at least terribly close to ‘conspiracy to pervert the course of justice’ territory.

I want only to finish with a few thoughts on the ramifications of all of this, firstly for public life in Scotland.

I have made no secret of my growing concern about the state of democracy in Scotland nor the way public officials perform their duties. There seems to me now to be a messianic cult of impunity among far too many senior officials. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this has rattled my confidence in the health of Scotland as a nation right now.

There must be reform of governance in Scotland and a root and branch review of the civil service and its agencies. I struggle to understand how the Lord Advocate is still in post (what exactly is the ‘correct’ number of malicious prosecutions he can admit to in any given year?) and his existence as an active member of Cabinet is clearly contrary to EU law (enshrined in domestic law) that the Executive (government) and judiciary (legal system) are independent of each other.

If this rattles the confidence of the public in Scotland then I can hardly blame them, and I can’t see what the option is other than (finally) honesty, full disclosure and reform.

Talk of continuity in government during the Covid crisis is neither here nor there. If continuity means failure to ensure integrity, we have a bigger problem. Surely someone else can do a press conference every morning and no-one is asking health officials to resign. The vast majority of the SNP’s politicians are good and honest people who had nothing whatsoever to do with this; there will be no problem forming a strong working government.

Finally, the cause of independence. I have said over and over to the small group of people whom I’ve spoken to about this that harm was inevitable from the moment the ‘original sin’ of this affair took place.

In the last week there has been much chatter from people who support independence of the sort ‘but she’s so popular, can’t we turn a blind eye to this, at least for a while?’. I of course have sympathy for the many grassroots activists I so admire and who have been let down by this, but I have two responses.

The first is simple; directly before the Watergate scandal Richard Nixon had approval ratings of 68 per cent, substantially better than Nicola Sturgeon’s – and this whole affair has remarkable parallels with Watergate.

This will out eventually. I wish dearly that Nicola Sturgeon had found a dignified excuse to fall on her sword long before now and it might actually have been possible to avoid this (for now, if not for the history books). But she didn’t. Every part of this traces back to her, her team, her husband and her close confidants. If you’re angry about this (you should be) that’s where to direct it.

We sure as hell can’t afford this to dominate the 2021 Holyrood election and there is a very real risk it will.

But to return right back to the beginning, while I have sympathy to those wishing we could ‘turn a blind eye’, in the end that is the Ted Cruz/Mitch McConnell position – and how is that working out for them?

It is almost explicitly to say that you are content for a new Scotland to be born from corruption, so long as it is born. But I can’t tell you how much of a mistake that is – there is no redemption for us from such a stance. Our future, our nation must be born from honesty and integrity or you should want no part of it. I certainly don’t.

‘Just this one corrupt conspiracy and no more, we promise’ can’t be acceptable

‘Just this one corrupt conspiracy and no more, we promise’ can’t be acceptable, can’t be how we carry ourselves into the future. Whatever price we pay for this we must pay, and we must then atone and rebuild. We can still win an election if we start right now.

I wish I had an alternative for you. I wish, I so deeply wish, this had never happened. None of it. Even now I wish I didn’t feel I need to write these things. But I do feel I need to, for my own conscience if nothing else. My silence would leave me feeling complicit and I can’t live with that. I would have written the same even for a leader I admired and supported.

And I have already lived for these two years with the knowledge of this wound deep into things I care very much about – Scotland, its future as an independent nation and its ability to be a much better place than one where a fifth of the people live in poverty.

We have been dragged here and whether it is now, during the election or in the months after when we should be moving purposely towards independence, this is all going to pour into the public domain like it or not.

And because it will poison all it touches, those responsible must remove themselves or be removed and rapidly be distanced from the cause of independence and Scotland’s public realm.

#SNP #Nicola Sturgeon #Corruption #Scotland #Common Weal #Alex Salmond #conspiracy #Robin McAlpine

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medic275 · 5 years ago

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*The Silent Virus*

CornaVirus or (COVID-19) is a Globally fast spreading Virus from just close contact can be transfers onto clothing even footwear i.e brush pasted someone else that could of been potentially touch anyone or lent against an item or door way e.g. (you get the idea) or touching “Anything” that could be contaminate from other Users, any type of surface,

you can Not see it, you can Not feel it, you can Not smell it,

you can only believe what is being Told by National Health services.

So let me take back to January 2020 before any of this began - just after Christmas we celebrated the New Year 2020 as we always do see it in make revolutions i.e save money - buy a new car - buy/rent own property - getting married - travelings - fitness goals - Etc. As we go through this month things are relatively the same as the year before nothing has offically change still going to work shopping taking the children to school running meeting friends for coffee and the general day to day things, Now the world can only change a day a time and live by the 24hour rule you can not see or predict the future as much as we liked to, and win the Lottery with the Winning Numbers. Untold to the world public no one really knew that there was a virus brewing but why? Simple Answer - Because we had No knowledge of it which start back in 2019 In china.

Back in December 2019 was when this first “Out Broke” in Wuhan China is Started to Spread Through out China with this Onset and spread people withing china were quickly being affect without knowing they were to begin with - eventually this lead to Lock down cancellation of planes trains automobiles and ships/ferries, Sine 31-01-2020 UK saw its first two cases but unaware of an actual virus Silently Spreading with other countries going into lock down and cases increasing the UK followed with cases and health warning however by end of February saw a PANDEMIC OUTBREAK within the UK and the general public feared for the worst and no one had an idea of what is to come, everyone rushed out and started to panic buy but why? there was no hard evidences but social exploited this and showed other counties stock piling and for unknown reason - “Toilet Paper was more important than anything”people actually fought for it in-store. - further explanation in post.

COVID-19 has two types of name.

CornaVirus 2019 (COVID-19) Is an Infectious Disease that is a family of viruses that cause disease in animals. Seven, including the new virus, have made the jump to humans (How did it make this Jump?) Now is currently suspected made the jump from Snakes but this is unclear with a lack of information and unclear whether or not this type of animal can be infected by this type of disease?

how other type such as rats and bats are the main point of view in this current disease it is believed to have come from bats in general however

“In rare cases, coronaviruses in animals can evolve to infect people and then spread between people. This was the case”

In the new study, published today (Jan. 22) in the Journal of Medical Virology, the authors found that 2019-nCoV appears to be a mix, or recombination, of two coronaviruses — one that is known to infect bats and another coronavirus of unknown origin.

CornaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) - is the strain of virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which infects the epithelial cells within the lungs. The virus enters the host cell by binding to the ACE2 receptor. - A bat-borne virus is any virus whose primary reservoir is any species of bat. The viruses include coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

So what is “Covid-19″ - its an Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Anyone can & more than likely with contract Covid-19 Symptoms first persisted as Flu Like Symptoms and knowning the difference between The Flu and Covid-19 was difficult at first, but with that said 3 Main Symptoms are:

**Cough TEMP 37.8 Shortness Of Breath**

But this is still hard to know whether or not its Covid-19 Related as these symptoms range over 100′s other of Medical Problems. Now that said with all 3 of these Main Symptoms together all “Risk” Factors will be taken into consideration at Onset Time i.e Acute New Persistant cough with Temp increase and Shortness of breath Acute ( RED FLAGS) Now anyone Can and more than likely will contract covid-19 with the chance of being a carry BUT not having any symptoms.

However - It is more serve in people with have had an organ transplantare having certain types of cancer treatment have blood or bone marrow cancer, such as leukaemiahave a severe lung condition, such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthmahave a condition that makes you much more likely to get infectionsare taking medicine that weakens your immune systemare pregnant and have a serious heart condition. anyone over 65.

So Now we are in March - So Stores and local corner shops are being fully Raided and shelves are being bleed dry of products that everyday normal shopping went from casual of what you needed and top ups to full on Fallout War type shelf stripping and selfishness with the world public, it got so serious that stores are having to limit people to shopping and amount of products you buy can of e.g x2 toilet roll or x3 of each product, but a lot of people saw this as an advantage and ROCKETED prices of a simple 4 pack of toilet paper from a casual 2.49 to 6.99 and so on, people started buy as much hand sanitize also and hand soap essential items and try to make a quick buck even market traders so an opening and at the current time people where actually BUYING THIS from Rough traders/people working in corner shops.

as fast as Stores were being replenished they where being stripped, now we have RESTRICTION in place to help the public and stores, there is enough for everyone even though its not much better now the POPULATION DEMAND increased so rapidly stores can not get products quick enough to the stores replenish it fully with out it being stripped bare with in hours of restocking.

Public Places - food restaurants most shops has closed until further notice to help tackle covid-19 as well as reduce groupings government have put in policy's and laws as well as being in lock-down it had a massive knock on effect not just for the general public but traders stores Etc.

We have seen this virus “Exploded” through out March Hospital has become Stressed and Capacity has been Maxed out - not with just Covid-19 but general public requiring hospital admission Now Hospital are having to bulild/make Temporary Hospitals to deal with demand of Covid-19 Isolation Zone made up Quarantine areas made up as well as keeping a Flowing A&E department for the NoN related COVID19 patients, Cases are rocketing as well as deaths, Nurses Drs HCA Receptionist Ambulance Crews are all feeling the FULL force of this everyone is look at the NHS to save them ambulance crews running around providing Essential care to Everyone with limited PPE available to them this is also including Hospital and other Medical Support Service i.e Red Cross, (Before you slate about other emergency services “Read On” )

The rest of the world are doing what they can for their own countries also, China has been Disinfecting the whole city other places are there all in cleaning streets public places building etc but its still “NOT” over for them yet Italy has one of the Highest Death Tolls on the Planet.

So what does the UK have in place to protect the Public well,

Being Told to Wash our Hands for 20seconds use Hand Sanitiser Not touch to our faces keep well cleaned and take protective measure where necessary i.e people wearing gloves and mask (far point) but go touching door ways or windows or smoking you are just contaminating yourself and leaving this protentional virus to become in contact with outer gloves and then your touching your clothing's car wallet money face etc leading on this removal of the gloves and washing your hands Unknown to yourself you actually Contaminated

20seconds HANDWASHING Keep your selfs to your self Dont Spread

REMOVE - REDUCE - REMOVE - REDUCE - REMOVE - REDUCE - REMOVE

Social 2meters (6feet) Dont let this Catch you out.

When are people allowed to leave their homes?

Shopping for "basic necessities", as infrequently as possible. People should use delivery services, where they can

Medical reasons, to provide care, or to help a vulnerable person

Travelling to and from work, but only if it is "absolutely necessary"

People should not meet friends or family members who do not live with them.

What other new measures are there?

Shops selling "non-essential goods" including clothes and electronics stores will be closed immediately

Libraries, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship will also close

Gatherings of more than two people (excluding people who live together) will be banned

There will be no weddings or baptisms but funerals will be allowed

Parks will remain open but people are only to go out to exercise once a day

But yet Some of the general public are still struggling with this and Social distancing, they not doing to annoy you or just for fun and games, the start of this was so to speak oh it just Advance flu be alright - To - well you cant see you friends or family because you have to self isolate cant hug your children or partners or family member Medical Professions are having to make heart breaking choice to not be able to see their family or children breaking promises and hearts because the World Public need their help!! and yet some people our having 20+ gatherings and parties bbq’s well let me reflect some SERIOUS point of view.

We are Now Entering April and we haven't even Reached the Peak of the Virus Problem we have only just started to understand its “DNA & Structure” of how it works and what we need in place and how we can help treat this but yet there is NO Cure or Vaccine at this current moment in time is still 12-18 Months away if not Longer - For all the “Covid-Idiots” out there that don’t understand the complete Hidden Danger this **Silent but Violent Virus** will get you and it could Potentially Kill you or your loved ones, Harsher Words are now need - but its not your Sheer Lack of Intelligence or Sheer Lack of Respect that your Putting More pressure on a health system that already under “EXTREME” pressure but putting Health Profession live at risk once again - But your Sheer Lack of Thinking and Commonsense to this approach if you said to be it does exist and you don’t care its just a conspiracy .. my Question to you is - You want your family or friends to die? Everyone has mothers or father they adore dont care how Tough you think you are NO one is a big Man want to out live your children, do you want to have to watch you children loved ones be take away and you can not go with them to hospital you can be with them because is the virus they will be in Isolation all by them self’s scared upset worried fearing the out most Worst thoughts!!.

Think about it do you want this to affect your family? Let just go back to about people having gathering or family outings you are putting other emergency services at risk the police are having to deal with theses gathering or your Lack of common sense to Social Distancing as well as Isolation or STAYING AT HOME / Police are having to responde to more Unexpected deaths also due to Covid-19 Etc, The fire service are also doing there part with in assisting in medical emergencies where possible i.e patient extraction, or medical help as closest first responder if safe to do so as well as dealing with there own Action protocols.

Let me tell you a story about what happens with these type of symptoms - lets say you have asthma or someone in the family does, If they potentially contract this in anyways, it will Seriously Affect Their repository system, and the following will or can happen

*Pre Hospital Assessment - Pre Hospital Care - Pre Hospital Alert -

Rapid Blue light Transfer - Immediate Isolation - Providentially Intubated and Transferred To An ICU unit -

even with Isolation they will be alone 100′s of people around lots going on its a very scary place to be especially for a grown adult Nobody want to DIE!! Even if your not intubated you will still be placed into Isolation area and no one is allowed in to see you with hospitals restricting the amount of people allowed in or to be with family members is going to be Hell on people ripping their hair out not knowing what is really happening until the hospital calls - Reality is kicking in here and its KICKING Hard - so all you Covid-Idiots out there start listening up and listen Good & Hard!!

Going around liking poles products toilet seats public space “Clap Clap Clap” You name is being currently reserved for ICU or Mr Reapers Scythe *Stop being Morons* you are affecting the general public and people already with A)Health Conditions & B) Mental heath or anxiety conditions - Its quite funny really saw a few young lads the other day joking laughing about Covid-19 & giving small Abuse to medical service Simple question to them Would you be laughing if your friends or yourself contracted this virus and could potentially die? Safe to say they quickly apologised and thought about their actions!! Now back to all you NON common senseless Idiotic people - do you want the said above?^^^

Dont put yourself or others at risk listen to the Government these rules and restriction are to protect you and everyone else.

Stay at Home Social Distancing Self Isolation Isolation what is so hard to under stand about this? People moan and moan i rather be at home rather spend time with the family or in the garden so on and NOW you can you all moaning AGAIN there is NO winning with the world or population, The Silent Virus is only beginning and we have only seen a True full on Month of this and its not going to settle so let me take you other to the next phase of the up coming months!

**The Perfect Storm**

Covid-19 is only just Starting in the United Kingdom the Case are rising Fast the Death Toll is increasing Daily Recover Rate will hopefully rise but we haven't even Scratched the tip of the surface with this Virus if you thin March was a Rough month you best Buckle up place that overhead buckle be we are still climbing this roller-coaster and once we the United Kingdom reach the top of this Virus its going the Rougher Than HELL it self!

So the Perfect Storm

Before a full on storm with always get a little taste of what is coming - its Calm Beautiful before we see the eye of the storm and that when the day turns to Night and Night becomes Deathly scary Take Note of this -

This Virus is at its calm Measures of spreading and still spreading its been calm and now we are entering the eye of this Virus - its starting to show what is capable off and what it does do once you contract it and how alot of people will not survive when we hit the Peak of this

** The Perfect Virus Storm is going to Hit us all & Wipe every of their feet **

Cases ^^^^^ Death Rate ^^^^^^^^^^^ Recovery ^^<

Remember we still have a long way to go before a Vaccine is Found please do you part by staying in Isolating only going when needed or necessary

This Isnt fun & games peoples lives Matter and are at risk!!

Think bout it!! Protect yourself and others!!

From my own Thoughts & POV This is starting to become a lot more realer and everyone is Scared Anxious Worried Nobody wants to die we all have something to live for and want from life! Life is a very Precious thing Once its gone its Gone and it can be taken away in a Blink of an eye Timing is more Precious & Cherish-able.

Dont want Medical Intervention want to try steering clear of all this Covid-19 concern listen to the government!! Because this is about to get more Real than anyone can imagine .

Don’t Regret or have the words of *IF ONLY*

This will be last thing you will ever think & say.....

- Live - Breath - Love -

This is my Words No One Else - “Green Uniformed”

youtube

#covidー19 #covid2020 #stayathome #stayingathomesaveslives #isolation #quarantine #helpustohelpyou #world2020 #justlive #life

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caryglenn · 4 years ago

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The Crazy, Flipped-up Market

House-flippers, fixer-uppers, resellers. We have many names for them, but housing market analysts tend to exclude them from their speculative hemming and hawing. Typically, flipping properties is a strategy best employed during low points in the housing market, where value is low and potential returns for tidying up a lot can be high. So how have home flippers been faring during the COVID-19 pandemic? As expected, the pandemic has been a bit rough for flippers. Just like everyone else, home investors compete in the same market as everyone else for properties. While the traditional narrative is that fixer-uppers sometimes crowd out everyday buyers, that's changed a little during the pandemic simply because housing inventory is so low. But home flippers have another beast to contend with: soaring lumber prices. Fresh wood is, of course, an essential component in remodeling a home, so any one factor stymieing the national lumber supply will have a huge impact on both remodeling homes and building new homes. Unfortunately, several factors are causing the log industry to bog down. One major reason behind the lumber shortage is due to lumber facilities around the country laying off staff or shutting down amid the pandemic, coupled with an increased demand for wood used for homes. Even wildfires and bark-eating beetles are stopping up the supply chain in both the US and in Canada, which is the US' major lumber supplier. But it might not all be doom and gloom for home flippers. The low supply problem could actually make a refurbished home even more valuable on the market, as some homeowners and investors in beach cities are finding (sometimes even accidentally!). Florida's luxury homes are part of one major reselling market, as are the properties found in Newport and Laguna Beach right here in California. These stories might be anomalies, but they do show one way houses can get back into the market. And at this time, every little bit helps. On the hunt for a Laguna Beach luxury home? Contact Cary Glenn of Main Beach Realty. With 20 years of experience in selling boutique beachside properties in Orange County, Cary works closely with his clients to ensure that he meets their needs.

#realestate homes luxury

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contempoyanna · 5 years ago

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PPF Events (Past-Present-Future)

No matter who and what you are, there are certain happenings that happened in this world that may have affected the way we live right now. It does not really matter if we were alive at the time it happened, it still affects us. Have you ever thought about that? Ever thought about why the society you are living in has these certain standards, these methods, and issues? What may have influenced them or caused them to be as is? Well, you may have not but I have.

PPF Events, as I would like to call it, are global occurrences that, in my opinion, affected the life I am living right now; events that happened before I was even formed in my mother’s uterus, as I was growing up (and experiencing the awkwardness during puberty - yikes) and, of course, those that might have (unknowingly) an impact on my future.

With that, let me just start discussing these events that live rent-free in my mind, what they are, when (a bit of how) they happened and why I think it affects me.

Might wanna grab a snack and a cup of coffee while you read this, it’s going to be a while yeah.

Let’s start with the 1800s...

(photo: https://www.coveyclub.com/blog_posts/seneca-falls-convention-feminism/)

Feminism is one of the most known movements for women empowerment and gender equality.

Not even my parents were alive when this happened.

As I grew up and discovered more about this, I realized that the reason why women nowadays are slowly (but surely) being recognized as equals to men is because of a movement that happened by the 19th century (19th right?) and in New York - further proves that America was indeed a land of opportunity. Now, before I discuss why I think it affected me, let me clarify something. Feminism aka Women’s Rights Movement is meant to fight for equality, for women to be recognized as an equal to men. It is not meant to say that women are superior yet it is meant to say that women should be equal to men.

Some of you may not be aware but feminism has four waves, and in this post I am referring to the first wave that happened July 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York City.

It was THE conference that had 300 women discussing what their rights are socially, civil and religious. From what I have read, it was a fruitful meeting (well it wasn’t successful but it was somewhat fruitful). It was concluded with a long, long list of male-centric laws that demean a women’s self-esteem and self-respect. TLDR; These laws exclude women’s rights (to which I say no <3).

This wave was the foundation of how women today can walk freely and proudly say that they deserve the same rights to be respected and equally acknowledge their strengths as done to men. These were the women who encouraged and influenced many of us that we are not just to depend and be abject to our ‘partner’, we are more than that.

We are women, humans that deserve to be respected, to have civil rights and to be more than just a “wife”.

Interested? You can read more here Senaca Falls Convention & The Women’s Rights Movements.

1991′s Pinatubo Eruption

(photo: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/100047/filipinos-pinatubo-photo-named-among-greatest-of-all-time)

Pretty sure almost everyone, well at least every Filipino and neighboring countries, know about this event that was proclaimed as one of the greatest eruptions of all time. It was always taught during history -how unforgettable June 15,1991 is - because of its global reach and impact.

In fact, it was so great that the fumes it released changed global climates, causing some to drop a few degrees of the normal temperature and Asian countries to have a temporary shift in their rain patterns.

Why do I think this affected me? Well, I am a person of this Earth thus what affects the Earth affects me too. See, before Mount Pinatubo, global warming (I’m sure almost everyone of us is aware of this matter) has been a concern by many scientists and environmentalists alike. As many of the articles (although I only referenced the one I based on the most) I have read stated, for 60 - 70 years, the global temperatures continue to rise because of the emission of greenhouse gases.

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo injected particles (fumes?) of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere which decreased the global temperatures for two (2) years, approximately. This event further proved that humans were - and still are - the main contributor to the continuous climate change and global warming we are experiencing.

TLDR; This global occurrence further proved that we are the ones destroying our home. It affects me, as it affects you, because what affects the Earth should affect us.

Want to know more? Read here: Pinatubo 25 Years Later

How about events as I was growing up?

#METOO Movement - 2006

(photo: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/challenge-of-archiving-the-metoo-movement/)

If you frequented on Twitter during 2016 and late 2017, you might be familiar with #MeToo.

Originally founded by Tarana Burke through using the phrase “me too” in MySpace (that’s something I haven’t heard in a long time), she thought of a way to help sexual crime victims and, at the same time, make people all over the world aware of how much of an impact sexual harassment has on the victim.

#MeToo movement aims to make aware how common sexual harassment, abuse and violence is through victims sharing their own experiences thus letting them know they are not alone.

How has this affected me? Well, personally I have been one who has experienced sexual harassment in (dare I say) minimal forms. Such as being catcalled, or even being sexually assaulted while commuting in public transpo.

Most sexual harassment or sexual assault victims find it hard to confess what had been done to them because of the different norms in their society, however the #MeToo movement tells you that you are not alone. That your voice should be heard, because you are not wrong. You were the one wronged.

Especially with how conservative our society is, where they usually blame the victim for how they dress or how they act which resulted to them being harassed or assaulted rather than the offender, it is a huge relief that there are people who would be there to fight for you in a way that you cannot for yourself.

Read more: Understanding the Me Too movement: A Sexual Harassment Awareness Guide.

2013′s Typhoon Haiyan

(photo: Manila Bulletin)

Here in the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan is better known as “Yolanda” and to many of us (including my family) this has been one of the most traumatizing experience out of all the typhoons our country has experienced. Although our experience is not as bad as those in Tacloban, Leyte, it certainly was not the best either. Our place has never really been flooded - not even during Ondoy - but during Yolanda, flood washed into our house that we had to stay upstairs until it went down.

You would see debris, garbage and even some swimming rats. In addition to that, the strong winds could be felt and the loud thunder, followed by a bright lightning strike. It really was a scene that I would never forget. How much more to those who lost their family, their home, their source of income? Did this affect my life? Yes, greatly I can say. How? It opened my eyes to a lot of things.

First, was how unready we, as a country, were when calamities like this strike us. One would think that we would be prepared since our country is prone to strong typhoons such as this, yet we are not.

Other than that, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the typhoon was caused by human-induced climate change which is also a by-product of global warming. Add to that, the never ending garbage everywhere that we cannot seem to solve.

As I have said earlier, what affects the Earth, affects me. In this case, it directly affected me and my ‘kapwa’ Filipino, endangering thousands of lives and destroying a whole island’s worth of homes.

Read more: 2013 Typhoon Haiyan: Facts, FAQs, and how to help & UN: ‘Yolanda’ tops extreme events of 2013

Events that will (greatly) affect me in the future?

2020 - COVID-19 Pandemic

(photo: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-during-emergencies/food-safety-and-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19)

None of us expected to spend our 2020 this way, but here we are. Stuck indoors because of a virus that has yet been cured or found an effective (and safe) vaccine.

Pretty sure a lot of us are affected with this pandemic, especially our futures. For students like us, you are either affected by this because you have to struggle in online classes (and in our country, trust me that’s a challenge) or due to personal matters, you would be taking a leap year from school or university.

For adults, like our parents, this has really been an event that has been heavy on financial load and struggling to spend money for our everyday needs. Especially since a lot of companies laid off on their employees due to economic circumstances and for the sake of the company itself.

I cannot say for sure, whether this pandemic has a good or bad effect on my future, but I can say that it is an experience that taught me a lot of things on how to handle difficult situations and gave me a rough idea on what I would be dealing with as a doctor in the near future.

Development of Nanotechnology

(photo: https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/comment/nanotechnology-medicine-technology/)

Nanotechnology sounds like something that came out of a sci-fi book but I’m telling you, it’s real. Various fields are developing ways to maximize this especially in the field of medicine.

What it is and how does it work you may ask?

This technology uses physics and molecular chemistry elements as a foundation, forming a functional system with unique characteristics that is engineered at a molecular level and occurs at nanoscale.

There are many applications of it as of today (in different industries too) yet what fascinates me the most is that nanotechnology may be one of the methods to cure cancer and prevent other diseases if properly utilized by medicine.

You may have noticed that I am focusing on the applications of nanotech in medicine but that is because I am going to be part of the medicinal field sometime in the future - which is basically why I’m biased.

Going back, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative of the U.S., gold nanoparticles are currently being researched and clinically trialed as a potential treatment for all kinds of illnesses (especially terminal ones like cancer). Add to that, nanotechnology is to thank for the improved imaging and diagnostic tools we have that help in early diagnosis, individualized treatments and better success rates - therapeutically.

As promising as it sounds, keep in mind that it is a fairly young and new scientific discovery so it is bound to have many faults. However, as we age, technology also advances and improves its many faults along the way - for example, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and other robotic mechanisms.

Thus, I do believe that the discovery of this certain technology has a great impact not only on my future, but, as someone who will be working in the medicinal field, also the future of medicine itself.

Here’s a few articles that will inform you about nanotechnology in medicine:

The Future of Nanotechnology in Medicine, Benefits and Applications of Nanotechnology & Nanotechnology in Medicine: Technology Trends

In conclusion?

The world continue to advance towards (hopefully) better things. In my lifetime, these are some of the events that I believe made a great impact on my life.

I am pretty sure that we all have different global events that continuously affect the way we live, the way we are as a person.

Looking at it on another perspective, these occurrences may be a lesson for the future generation. A reference of what to do and what NOT to do (especially with how our government handled this pandemic).

How about you? What PPF events made an impact in your life?

#GEWORLD #personal #random thoughts #random opinion

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entergamingxp · 5 years ago

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Final Fantasy 14’s big 5.3 patch opens up the path to new players • Eurogamer.net

It’s been almost seven years since the release of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, a game whose story has been recounted countless times, after putting Naoki Yoshida in the director’s chair, who since pulled the game from the brink of disaster with the release of A Realm Reborn. Fast forward seven years, with a few critically-acclaimed expansions under their belts, the Final Fantasy 14 team looks back at older content, and introducing the game to new players with patch 5.3.

“There isn’t any time to relax, or chill out at the moment,” producer and director Naoki Yoshida tells me over Zoom. Final Fantasy 14 has just hit 20 million registered players, but according to Yoshida it’s still not enough for Square-Enix’s President and CEO, Yosuke Matsuda. “We have to continue driving this forward, so there’s really no time to relax, or lower our guard.”

The latest patch for Final Fantasy 14 was delayed by a few months, due to disruption no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, as announced via a live stream from Yoshida in May. “The situation has affected us heavily these past months. It’s really hard for us to get back on track.” With schedules out of the window, just what is it like to run an active MMO with millions of players during a pandemic?

“Even through this situation, the FF14 team is in a good workflow, there’s a great team with a high sense of responsibility… At the moment, 90 per cent of developers are working from home currently, and they’re starting to get familiar with the change in environment. As for the mentality and psychological perspective. I’m confident that we’re all quite stable, and we can focus on the work. We’re getting back to normality.”

The patch, which releases on August 11th on all platforms, is going under the name Reflections in Crystal.

5.3 is due to be released on the 11th of August, and Square-Enix has since released a mini site for all the new additions to the game. However, just underneath the surface more significant changes are being made to the game in order to accommodate new players, starting with a complete overhaul of the content released in the original game, which was created in just two and a half years, according to Yoshida.

“We needed to create really tight guidelines for creating quests. For example, they have to make each quest 9 minutes long, including all the text and all that. Because we had the concept that we want the players to spend a lot of time on those quests, that’s why we made that kind of guideline for each quest. With that, as a result, it kind of revealed so many quests that may be unnecessary, or lots of excess steps which you don’t really need, so we wanted to revisit and remove all the excess quests and unnecessary bits, because we thought that the focus has to be for players to enjoy the storyline.”

Yoshida’s words ring true. The first hours of A Realm Reborn are rough, and can be a significant turn-off for many newer players of Final Fantasy 14, but this streamlining does not come without its own challenges. “If we just take out some bits from the existing storyline, then we have to take out the NPCs that may be playing the key role, or really important role, and it could also affect the lore of the world and everything. We listed all the quests that are included in ARR, and then we figured out the priority, and the necessity of the quests existing in the game or not. This removal of the unnecessary quests, took up a third of the entire workload.”

But if new players still want to experience all of the content that was in the vanilla release of FF14, Yoshida has words of reassurance. “Those quests that are decommissioned, we didn’t really remove them completely,” he says. “We moved them to side quests. For anyone who has the time and wants to dig more for lore and stuff like that, then they can spend time on it.”

The Heroes’ Gauntlet Dungeon in action.

Exactly how many quests have been removed or altered? “We didn’t really count, because if you do that then it will be so disheartening, discouraging,” says Yoshida with a laugh. “So many quests are there, so we didn’t track how many quests we needed to work on.”

Regardless of just how many quests have been removed from the game, it’ll make the game significantly easier for new players to get into. But as a seasoned Final Fantasy 14 player, I had some bones to pick. In the base game, there is a location that you need to repeatedly return to, with no fast-travel links nearby named The Waking Sands. What’s the deal?

“It’s a hideout, so it feels so cheap, so easy. (to put a fast-travel location there) We don’t have any intentions to implement an Aetheryte (fast travel point) near that location. That said, we totally get that this is a really time-consuming journey, where you have to come up any time Minfilia calls you to come over. That’s why… This is kind of new information that we’ve not really revealed to anyone yet. We actually have a new item, a kind of teleport ticket you can use to teleport to Camp Horizon straight away. You might be wondering, even though there isn’t an Aetheryte ‘How come Teleportation is possible here?’ Anyway, it’s a special item for easing the travel burden. Please don’t be angry at Minfilia.”

But, I wasn’t quite done yet with the list of sorely-needed quality of life changes to the base content of the game. There are two infamous dungeons in A Realm Reborn, Castrum Meridianum and The Praetorium. Both are pretty lengthy, with unskippable cutscenes every time they might come up during a daily dungeon roulette where you can get extra bonus XP. It’s not uncommon in these dungeons for some players to be AFK, and just wait for others to complete it for them. What’s going to be done with these now-archaic dungeons?

“We came to the conclusion that it would be easier just to create those two eight-man dungeons from scratch, rather than tweaking the existing content,” says Yoshida. “We totally understand that those two dungeons are very time-consuming, so we have discussed it, but we let go of the idea. We were looking into it, and we thought that it would be best to create new dungeons, but kind of separate out the battle against Ultima Weapon as kind of standalone content outside of those two dungeons. When we do that we will make sure that it will be trust system compatible.”

The Yo-Kai Watch collaboration also returns from August 19th.

The trust system has been introduced in the latest expansion, Shadowbringers. This allows you to go through dungeons with a party of capable NPCs, instead of other players, for those looking for a more single-player experience.”We cannot say when it’s going to be happening, but it’s something in our mind, and we want to do it at some point in future.”

From Yoshida’s responses, it’s clear the team is dedicated to a significant rehaul of content to make the game more friendly to new players. This is assisted by a hugely expanded free trial, which now includes the base game in addition to its first expansion, Heavensward. However, this free trial does exclude some key community features such as being unable to trade using Final Fantasy 14’s market boards in addition to restricting chat and the ability to party up with friends. “We’re not considering changing the current business model of subscriptions, it helps us maintain the quality of the game,” says Yoshida. “There’s a risk of RMT, real money trading, and stuff like that, so once they can use those tools, they’ll just use it and it’ll rise to uncontrollable levels.”

Yoshida also gave a lengthy explanation as to how subscriptions essentially protect Final Fantasy 14 against a higher influx of RMT in the game, which is an incredibly costly endeavour, but it remains to be seen how many players of the new expanded free-trial will be turned off by the lack of community functionality.

However, there is still new content to look forward to in 5.3 for existing players in the form of a new raid, in addition to other side content. But, there’s still one key beloved Final Fantasy 14 character seemingly missing in action. Fan-favourite Hildebrand is a rubbish detective, with an incredibly fun quest line that players experienced five years ago. But, since then he’s been missing in action.

“I don’t currently know the whereabouts of Hildebrand. I don’t know where he is. I can’t go into more details here, but in 5.3 you may or may not find him, not as himself, but more like a tip or a clue as to where he might be. I would like you and all players to join together and search for clues that’ll be dotted around in-game.”

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With a slew of crossover content in Final Fantasy 14, such as the Nier raid series that’s due to be expanded, or the Ivalice raid series, which contains winks and nods to Final Fantasy 12 and Final Fantasy Tactics, or even the FF15 content released several years ago, we wondered about the absence of some high-profile games that the team could have collaborated on.

“We’ve had lots of feedback and lots of hopes that with the FF7 Remake that we’ll do some crossover with them. It’s just part one of the journey, so we need to kind of nail down all the details and flesh it out, so it may take a while, it will take time to actually make something great. That said, we are positively looking into it, and we have hope that we want to do something with this at some point in the future. As for a Kingdom Hearts crossover, for this idea, one of the troubles is that we have to coordinate with Disney, and so I feel that there would be so many hurdles and challenges around working with them, so I try not to think about a crossover with Kingdom Hearts.”

Patch 5.3 of Final Fantasy 14 signifies the end of the current bigger patch cycle for their latest expansion, Shadowbringers. Since it’s been almost ten years since the original release of Final Fantasy 14, just how long does the game have left.

“We haven’t set any goal for how long the game will continue. As long as players enjoy playing the game, then I think we will continue delivering the great content. We don’t really have any sense of time set yet. FF14 is the game that we’ve created, with not only the people on the development team, but with the players around the world. Even though my life may end at some point, I hope that the game will continue after that, that someone will succeed me and continue. That’s my hope.”

Before our time with Yoshida was up, we asked Yoshida if there was any event where he would personally stop working on Final Fantasy 14. With swirling rumours around another project in the works at Square-Enix’s Creative Business Unit 3 and Yoshida himself having to actively deny that he’ll be the director of Final Fantasy 16, could he potentially be taken out of the directors chair anytime soon.

“The possibility would be that either I fell ill, died, or if the CEO fires me. It’s okay, you don’t need to worry about it.”

With Final Fantasy 14’s player base continuing to grow, allowances for new players, and a charismatic director at the helm there seems to be no end in sight for Final Fantasy 14. Patch 5.3 drops on August 11th – and it should contribute to what continues to be one of the strongest MMORPGs in recent memory.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/final-fantasy-14s-big-5-3-patch-opens-up-the-path-to-new-players-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=final-fantasy-14s-big-5-3-patch-opens-up-the-path-to-new-players-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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thechasefiles · 5 years ago

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 22/5/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap Friday 22nd May, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).

QEH SAFE FOR SURGERY – There is absolutely nothing wrong with the operating theatres at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Acting Director of Medical Services Dr Clyde Cave has insisted. He sought to allay patients’ fears of exposure to infection or risk of contracting COVID-19 when undergoing surgeries. His comments came in the wake of concerns raised by General Surgeon Dr Maurice Waldron as to the state of operating rooms at the Enmore isolation facility across the street from the hospital. But Dr Cave stressed the issues were not related to operating theatres at the QEH. He declared that the operating theatres at the QEH were of high quality and that patients need not fear. Dr Cave said: “There are no concerns about the theatres at the hospital. The discussion was about a potential new theatre in case a rare event of a patient with COVID-19 developed. “As a result of this discussion we are hearing from people in the community who are now scared that to come into the hospital there is something wrong with the theatres that we have. “The theatres that we have now are the same high standard that they have always been and this whole discussion is an effort to protect them so that they remain so. “So the discussion about the facility that was not up to the standard desired by some surgeons was another facility outside of the hospital for a very small subset of people, which is COVID-19 patients who would require extraordinary surgery.” Executive chairman of the QEH Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland also revealed that the Department of Surgery was consulted beforehand so that their concerns could be heard and addressed. She said within the last two weeks a decision was made that all patients undergoing surgery at the QEH would be pre-screened for COVID-19. Bynoe-Sutherland announced that the first basic surgery had been performed at the Enmore facility yesterday. She said in the case of complex surgeries which could not be done at Enmore, surgeons would consult with the Chief Medical Officer, who would conduct a risk assessment. She said: “Another aspect of patient safety that has been getting a lot of air recently is the whole issue of patient safety when it comes to surgery. “What we would have done is sat down with the department and worked out a number of interventions that ensured surgeons can be comfortable with the patients they are working on.” (BT)

SQUATTERS TAKE OVER - Private land owners in Barbados have been warned to secure their properties from trespassers and squatters, as a recent audit shows an alarming 70 per cent jump in cases of squatting on Government lands. This was part of the advice from Terra Caribbean in its 2020 edition of The Red Bookin which it examined the growing issue of adverse possession, where squatters claim legal title to land they live on for a period without paying rent and have not been asked by the owner to leave. In fact, the regional real estate company said statistics indicated that squatting was becoming a major headache not only for Government, but private land owners as well. “Adverse possession is a common law rule facilitating an occupier of land (one who does not have legal title), to obtain legal ownership of the land, if he can prove exclusive, continuous and uninterrupted possession for a specific period, specifically that they have maintained/cultivated the land as if they truly owned it. Under Barbados law . . . the period is ten years,” the realtors explained. Terra pointed out that if no action was taken during that time, the owner could lose the right to claim the property back from the occupier. When the company presented statistics on squatting on Crown lands, Terra said that despite efforts by Government to limit such activity on its properties, some squatter communities continued to mushroom. Citing an audit conducted in 2013 by the Barbados Audit Office (BAO) of illegal occupation of state lands during the period April 2003 and March 2013, a growing problem was uncovered. The areas audited included Belmont, Licorish Village, My Lord’s Hill, Howell’s Cross Road, Emmerton and The Ivy, all in St. Michael. The other hot spots were Six Men’s Tenantry in St Peter and Bath Tenantry in St John. While Rock Hall, St Philip was not included in that audit, it was identified as a burgeoning squatter concern that also threatened Barbados’ global civil aviation status. While the total land space occupied by squatters in these communities is not specified, it is believed to be several acres and with hundreds of structured exits on the lands. “Fast forward to 2018 and the BAO’s follow-up report covering the same areas but for the period April 1, 2015 to March 31 2018. Between the first and second audits there appears to have been an increase of 70 per cent in these areas,” it was noted in the Red Book. The realtors, who have offices in Trinidad, Grenada and St Lucia, said while the majority of squatter houses were timber, many had more permanent structures and benefited from connection to all the major utility services including water, telephone, electricity and even natural gas. And in its caution to landowners, the realtors said: “If you own land and don’t wish to risk losing the title to all or part to someone else, ensure you regularly inspect it, and if possible, implement measures to reduce trespassing and squatting.” (BT)

PASTORS’ GROUP URGES REOPENING OF CHURCHES –A group of pastors is to appeal to Government to allow them to reopen churches for regular services, amid the gradual relaxation of social restrictions imposed by the public health emergency. The group, the National Network of Pastors and Leaders, said it has been invited by the Prime Minister to suggest the maximum capacity of churches while adhering to physical distancing The network’s spokesman Apostle Reverend David Durant, told Barbados TODAY the group is made up of several churches from different denominations, as well as “independent evangelical and Pentecostal church leaders” It was not immediately clear whether the main Protestant churches, including the Anglican Diocese, or the Roman Catholic Church were represented in the body or had been consulted about the proposal. The main ecumenical body, the Barbados Christian Council, is currently headed by Major Darrell Wilkinson, divisional commander of the Salvation Army. Reverend Durant said: “While we have respected the rules regarding the numbers in the congregation as we do live streaming broadcasts – ten people at first, and eventually 20 – ideally we want to see churches reopening full time, but respecting the social distancing protocols in the process. “We are putting together a proposal, which the Prime Minister requested, to ascertain how many people each building can hold in a way that they can respect the rules. We are looking at a maximum of 60 people. “The churches already had sanitizers in place at both doors before the shutdown, so we will continue this, as well as check the temperatures of the people coming in. “Of course, there won’t be any hugs or handshakes as members greet each other because we are in a different season now.” The pastor also responded to social media criticisms that the clergy was excluded from the list of essential workers. He noted that more people were seeking assistance from the church than ever before and that he himself had gone out of his way to help Barbadians in need. Dr Durant told Barbados TODAY: “I cannot confirm whether it is true that the clergy is not on the list of essential service providers, but the church is here to address social needs, in that we give out hampers and provide other assistance such as counselling and other emotional support. “I personally have gone out to assist families outside of the curfew time and on days that did not correspond with the letter of my surname, and if asked why I was venturing out, I would tell the authorities that I am taking items to families that need help.” The evangelical preacher also had some words of encouragement for Barbadians as the country continues to endure the pandemic. “We will come through this, we just have to trust God and not give up,” he declared. “The last time the world experienced anything like this was the Spanish flu in 1918, some 102 years ago. I am thankful that we seem to be past the worst now in Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean. “We now have to unite, show love and respect for each other and I would hope that the criminal element will refrain from such activity and put their hands to better use.” (BT)

CAVE SHEPHERD BRACES FOR COVID HIT AS PROFITS VANISH – The Cave Shepherd group of companies has predicted a rough year for business, with COVID-19 wiping out expected profits. But its board has expressed confidence the retail and financial services giant can ride out the turbulence and maintain its $41 million cash reserves to provide room to make “strategic moves” under prolonged uncertainty. In its latest unaudited financial statements for the first quarter ending March 31, chairman Geoffrey Cave and chief executive officer John Williams said the group’s profit attributable to equity holders plunged from $2.9 million in 2019 to just $610,000 this year. The net profit for the period was $861 000, down from $3.4 million for the comparable quarter last year. The Cave Shepherd Group includes the iconic Cave Shepherd Department store, established in 1906, Fortress Fund Managers, SigniaGlobe Financial, Duty Free Caribbean, Colombian Emeralds, Ganzee, DGM Financial Services, and Cave Shepherd Credit Card Services. Cave Shepherd shareholders were given early warning that after COVID-19, changes were coming and that it would not be business as usual. Cave and Williams explained that notwithstanding a “strong start to 2020” in January and February, the COVID-19 pandemic weighed down the group’s overall first quarter performance, particularly its retail businesses and the value of its investment portfolio. They told shareholders: “Our retail associates, Duty Free Caribbean (Holdings) Ltd. and GCS Ltd. (Ganzee), experienced a significant decline in sales in March as both air and cruise travel came to a virtual halt. “In early April, Barbados and most Caribbean islands instituted lock-downs to minimise the spread of the virus. “At the time of writing, our retail stores are closed and our other businesses are largely operating in a virtual environment using digital technology. “There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic will have huge impact on countries, companies and individuals for the remainder 2020 and likely into 2021. “As it relates to companies, the focus of the business shifts away from annual returns towards the strength of the balance sheet, and in particular the level of cash and liquid reserves.” Cave Shepherd expects to report a loss this year, but with cash and liquid assets of $41 million, the company’s leaders said the group was well-position to ride out the storm. Cave and Williams added: “We have taken the painful, yet necessary measures to reduce our expenses as we prepare for a prolonged period of uncertainty and low economic activity. “Whereas we are very confident that the Cave Shepherd Group will weather this crisis, we can also say that it will not be business as usual once it has passed. “Barbados, Barbadians and our company will have to make many changes, and will likely look very different coming out of this period of crisis compared to how we looked going in. But we will come out, and will rebuild for the future.” (BT)

A&E COVID-19 ALERT - To date no doctor, nurse or patient warded at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has tested positive for COVID-19. However, 12 persons who visited the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) tested positive for the respiratory viral illness. Speaking at a press conference at the QEH this afternoon, acting Director of Medical Services Dr Clyde Cave said he was unaware of any nurse having contracted COVID-19 while at work. And while he said A&E had recorded a dozen positive tests, he said none of those persons had been on a ward at the QEH prior to being tested. “No. We have had nurses who have been tested and no doctors, as far as we are aware, have contracted it in the hospital. “For confidentiality reasons we may not be aware as an employer if somebody is off on sick leave but I believe the total number of identified cases in the country at this time is about 90, which is still relatively small and so far we’ve been really lucky and that compared to other healthcare workers throughout the world ours have been protected so far,” Dr Cave said. “The ones we have watched especially closely were all the workers who looked after the initial sick patients over at the Enmore isolation facility before they moved down to Harrison’s Point and none of those health workers has contracted COVID-19.” Dr Cave also dismissed a report that one of the seven persons who died from COVID-19 had been warded at the QEH prior to being diagnosed with the respiratory illness. “Not as far as I am aware for a patient in our hospital setting, meaning the inpatients. Our A&E is obviously our interface with the community and that’s why we have had to rearrange the whole A&E and move the relatively well ones upstairs and the potentially affected ones kept downstairs until we can determine what their status is,” he pointed out. “Some of the COVID-19 infections did present at the hospital and they were down there and some of those would have subsequently demised. Literally they would have been a hospital patient while they were here, but they were not an inpatient on the ward.” Dr. Chaynie Williams, Clinical Director, Emergency Services Directorate at the QEH revealed that the hospital had not recorded a positive COVID-19 test for over a month. “We have tested several patients and of them 12 have been positive so far and the last one was around April 11. So we haven’t had any positive tests although we still continue to test patients as they come to the A&E since then,” she said. (BT)

MAN STUNNED BY QEH TREATMENT - A 38-year-old man says he is feeling traumatized after being treated in what he described as an inhumane manner by some medical professionals at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). Jeremy Hoyte said he will never forget the treatment on April 30 when personnel suspected he may have had COVID-19. He was tested and the results came back negative. “Later that morning after returning home (from A&E) I laid in bed staring at the roof traumautized by my experience, in total disbelief of the treatment I received at Barbados’ premier medical facility. Was this the norm at the QEH? “Was I really told by a member of their staff to stay in a room in pain and allow my heart to stop and if they see fit the doctor would revive me? Or was it all from the fear of COVID-19, which I do not have?” The young man said he was so angered and disturbed by the situation that he felt compelled to write a letter of complaint to Minister of Health and Wellness Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic, and copy it in the Executive Chairman of the QEH Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s Permanent Secretary Alies Jordan. Hoyte said he received a response from Jordan who informed him that Prime Minister Mottley would like to speak to him about the matter. However, Hoyte who told Barbados TODAY he had been tested for COVID-19 at Paragon on April 29 said he saw it necessary to share his experience because he believes there is a need for some of those in the A&E to change their attitude towards patients. He said he was sent to Paragon by his family physician who was concerned about the headaches and uncontrollable severe shivering which made him feel weak and caused his muscles and joints to become very sore. Hoyte commended the officials at Paragon for the exemplary professional treatment they meted out to him when he went to be tested. He said while awaiting the results which he was told he would receive the following morning, his condition worsened and the pain became unbearable. He said after calling around, his relatives eventually found a doctor who was willing to see him at her office. After evaluating and assessing his symptoms, Hoyte said the doctor, who was dressed in personal protective equipment, was concerned about his condition and told him she would be unable to give diagnoses because his COVID-19 test results had not yet returned. He said the physician called the QEH and alerted care providers there that she would be sending him with a prepared letter. He went to QEH accompanied by his aunt whom he said happens to be a permanent staff nurse at the hospital. “Despite the content of the letter I was informed by the nurse that they are not dealing with COVID-19 patients. I told the nurse that I am not a COVID-19 patient and I was awaiting the results of my test but I was referred there by Dr Dottin who called ahead and made arrangements for me to be seen. After some debate amongst themselves, the letter was taken inside, I assume to the doctor on duty and my personal information and medical history was recorded on a form. “My pressure and temperature were taken and I was asked to take a seat under a tent and advised to follow the necessary protocols. Approximately 30 minutes later I was directed inside by one of the nurses where I was greeted by Dr Roa. He introduced himself and took me straight to a room and explained that he would not be able to do anything to me until he received my results which he would try to get, but in the interim I would be quarantined in the room until the results were available,” he said. Hoyte, who said he was in the room for hours with no one checking on him, also noted that when night came, the air-conditioning made him feel extremely cold and he began to shake vigorously to the point that the chair was shaking as well. He said his aunt gave him a blanket but that did not help the situation. “It was now approximately 8 p.m. and still no medical personnel from the A&E department had returned to check on me. My heart felt like it would slow to stop and I was scared. I could take no more. I panicked and ran out of the room. My aunt hurried to me to enquire what was wrong and I explained what had happened. She advised me not to return to the room and to bring the chair out and sit directly in front of the door which I did. “I took two paracetamol tablets I brought from home and sat in the chair until the shivering subsided. Unbelievably even to this point no one checked on me so they weren’t even aware of the attack. I stayed in the chair directly in front of the room as directed by my aunt and I continued to observe the necessary protocols.” He said after sitting outside the room for about 25 minutes, a nurse approached him and inquired why he was not in the room and informed him that he was breaking protocol. He said the nurse insisted he returned to the room though he informed her that his body could not tolerate the cold. Hoyte related that a male orderly also informed him and his aunt that they were breaking protocol and also warned them that they were putting others’ lives at risk. “I asked him ‘sir what was I supposed to do, stay in the room and allow my heart to stop?’ he replied ‘yes stay in your room. It is protocol. If your heart stop the doctor would bring a machine and revive it’. I was so astonished and angered by his response. “Did a trained employee of a medical facility just say this to me? That was the last straw. At age 38, I was reduced to tears. I was receiving no medical attention whatever. The staff was now verbally attacking me and it appeared that my COVID-19 results would not have been available until the following day.” Hoyte said at this point, after consulting with his aunt, they decided it was time to leave QEH. However, he said before they could leave, a nurse politely asked him to stay, and then eventually, around 9 p.m. a young lady who identified herself as Dr Drakes, in full protective attire approached him. He said the doctor apologized for what had taken place, administered an I.V, took samples of his blood and urine, and promised to have him relocated to a more comfortable setting. Around 9:49 p.m. Hoyte got a call from a representative at the Ministry of Health informing him that his COVID-19 result was negative, as was confirmed by the same doctor who returned about 25 minutes after he received the call. Hoyte said he received further tests that night, was diagnosed, received a prescription and was told to make arrangements to get home. However, he said when someone arrived to take him home and he asked a nurse to take out the I.V, he again received an unprofessional response and had to wait for sometime before it was done. “I therefore looked in the direction of the doctors’ area myself until I got the attention of Dr Drakes. I told her my brother was outside and she told me no problem that she will get a nurse to take out the I.V. Ten minutes later a second nurse came to take out the I.V. While she was taking it out, I realised that it was now 1 a.m. and I wouldn’t be able to get my prescription at that time. “I therefore asked the nurse if she could ask Dr Drakes if it was possible to get something for the pain to get me through the night. The nurse replied, ‘I am on break and I take two minutes of my break to take out this I.V. and you telling me about Dr Drakes and medication?’ I said sorry madam and as she was finished I said thank you and I just left,” he said. Noting that the concerns he raised were not a condemnation of hard-working dedicated members of the medical community, Hoyte said he believes the last thing a person under tremendous strain because of illness needs is to meet a care-giver who does not seem to care and who displays what he described as rude, insensitive and obnoxious behaviour. “I am also most certain that if I had been a prominent member of society that the treatment would have been different. They would have donned their protective gear from the beginning, as Dr Drakes did and attended to me. Persons must still realize that other diseases have not stopped because we are in a pandemic. I could have died that night. This kind of treatment is unacceptable to any member of society regardless of ethnicity,” Hoyte said. When Barbados TODAY contacted Bynoe-Sutherland for a comment she said the matter was being thoroughly investigated. (BT)

MISSING JOSHUA DEXTER NURSE –Police are seeking the public’s assistance to locate a missing teenager. He is 16-year-old Guyanese national Joshua Dexter Nurse who lives at #6 Buttals Tenantry, St George. Joshua, a fifth form student of St George Secondary, has been living here with his mother Karima Nurse since last year. Karima disclosed that she last saw her son on Tuesday around 7 a.m., when she was leaving home to go to work. She noted that Joshua was outside the house with a bag on his back and school books in his hands. When she returned home later that day, Joshua was not at home. She asked other family members, neighbours and friends but was unable to locate him. He was last seen wearing a long blue sweater, red short pants and grey boots. Joshua is five feet, six inches tall and has a dark complexion. He has brown full eyes and black hair. Anyone with information about Joshua’s whereabouts is asked to contact the District ‘B’ Police Station at 1 (246) 437-4311, Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800 – 8477, or the nearest Police Station. (BT)

TWO MEN FOUND IN TWO SEPARATE LOCATIONS –The bodies of two men were discovered in separate locations today, leaving police to investigate one of them as an unnatural death. An unidentified man may have drowned at Long Bay Beach, near Sam Lord’s Castle, St Philip, and firemen discovered the body of another on an open lot at Strathclyde, St Michael. A man, whose name has not been disclosed, was pulled from the water around 11:30 this morning. When police arrived on the scene, they said the man showed no signs of life. He was later pronounced dead by a medical doctor. Then, around 5 p.m., Barbados Fire Service officers conducting business in Strathclyde found the body of an adult male on an open lot, police said. Public spokesman Station Sergeant Michael Blackman has issued an appeal to anyone who may have information on the St Philip incident to contact the District ‘C’ Police Station at 416-8200, Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 or any Police Station. But Station Sargeant Blackman said was no foul play was suspected at this time in the St Michael discovery. (BT)

ST. MICHAEL YOUTH PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER – Raffique Vincent Murray told police back in 2016 he killed David Harewood because, “I did not like how he was talking to me and touching me.” Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale said the then 16-year-old Murray, of Sinckler Road, Haggatt Hall, St Michael, made the comment to lawmen who were investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the 39-year-old man. Harewood’s lifeless body was discovered lying in a pool of blood along the road at the junction of George Street and Belmont Road, St Michael on October 3, 2016. Yesterday, Murray pleaded not guilty to murdering Harewood but admitted to the lesser count of manslaughter. The Deputy DPP said investigations into the murder led police to persons who usually congregate in an area near St Michael’s Row in the City. Most of these men the prosecutor disclosed were homosexuals and cross-dressers who plied their trade along Crumpton Street, near Queen’s Park and also the area of Lower Constitution Road. In detailing the facts via the online communication platform Zoom, Seale said those in the area spoke about a young man they referred to as Renaldo who frequented the area. They said they usually had conversations with him. The deceased, they said, was also in the habit of propositioning young men who came to the area for sexual favours. One witness told police Renaldo was “speaking aggressively” to David telling him he would burst his face and why he would not go from around him. But the witness said David told Renaldo he had money and he was going to by an iPhone 7 the next day but Renaldo ignored David. Another witness said while sitting on a wall he could hear David asking Renaldo to have sex with him but Renaldo “did not pay him any attention”. They disclosed that the two were involved in an argument but Renaldo subsequently left and walked off along Constitution Road in the direction of Martindale’s Road. David also left going in the same direction. Murray was subsequently arrested at Trents Road, St James on suspicion of committing the offence of murder. He was transported to the Glebe Police Station that afternoon where officers discovered he was 16 years old. They asked whether he wanted to call a family member but he said “no”. They also told him of his rights to an attorney. “I ain’t want to talk to nobody so, I good” was his response. The lead officer told him investigations conducted led them to believe he was involved in Harewood’s murder and cautioned him. Murray responded telling police he went to speak with a homosexual near the van stand and David was there. “I stayed and talked foolishness with them for a while and after I was leaving I saw David walking behind me. David then start to walk next to me and ask me what I want in life. When I was talking to him I walk down Brownes Beach with him and David went under a shed. David and me was talking and David was touching me up. David was touching my legs and then was telling me that my body movements was telling him to come. He was touching me up . . .” Murray said he subsequently left and while walking he picked up a stick and walked down Belleville. “On reaching George Street I still had the stick in my hand and how David was talking and moving I did not like it. I take the stick and lash him with it . . . he hold he face and start running. I run behind David and I found a half a brick and I pelt it at David who started to fall . . . he try to get back up, I start beating he with the brick. I then run and went down Brownes Beach and sleep. That is all. “I lash he a couple of times when he duh on the ground,” Murray said before giving police a similar statement in written form. In that statement he wrote: “I killed David because I did not like how he was talking to me and touching me.” Asked why he went to Brownes Beach with the deceased he responded: “David say he had friends down there but when we get there I ain’t see nobody.” The Deputy DPP told the court the Crown accepted the manslaughter plea on the “basis of . . . the prevalence of provocation . . . We have evidence from a number of witnesses on the actions of the deceased towards the accused . . .”. Pathologist Dr Corinthia Duprius said the deceased had multiple injuries about the face and scalp. Death she said was due to head injury, secondary to blunt head trauma. The manslayer’s attorney Safyia Moore has requested a psychological report on her client as well as a “full” psychiatric report. The sentencing phase of the case continues on May 27 with Justice Randall Worrell presiding over the No.2 Supreme Court. Murray has spent 1,315 days on remand. (BT)

CRUISE SHIP WORKERS STUCK IN BARBADOS SPEAK TO FAZEER - You may have seen the story of last night’s newscast…six T&T Nationals are onboard the cruise ship Princess Caribbean, currently in Barbados. The nationals have sought permission from Minister of National Security to gain entry into the country but have been denied by the Minister. If no permission is granted, the Cruise ship will next dock in Mexico. Sheridann Hunte whose son is stuck on the Cruise Ship spoke as well as Sterling Howell, the Cruise Ship Worker aboard the Princes Caribbean. Link for full video below: https://www.tv6tnt.com/news/local/cruise-ship-workers-stuck-in-barbados-speak-to-fazeer/article_05c101b0-9b69-11ea-b6b9 af2ba012f197.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

The world is facing the rapid spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. As we continue to do our part in Barbados please remember to stay home but on the days you have to go out wear your masks, practice social distancing (stand 6-10 feet away from each other), practice good daily hygiene, eat healthy, exercise and keep your mind active. There are 224 days left in the year Shalom! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell #coronavirusinbarbados #nationalresponse #dailynews #thechasefilesblog

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vsplusonline · 5 years ago

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Coronavirus package | Migrant workers to get free foodgrains

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/coronavirus-package-migrant-workers-to-get-free-foodgrains/

Coronavirus package | Migrant workers to get free foodgrains

A major focus of the second tranche of the economic stimulus package announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday was to provide free foodgrains for the next two months to migrant workers who do not have ration cards. The Centre will spend ₹3,500 crore for this purpose.

Coronavirus package | Nirmala Sitharaman announces major stimulus package for MSMEs

Quoting numbers from State governments, Ms. Sitharaman said there are an estimated 8 crore migrant workers who have been housed in government and privately run relief camps across the country since the lockdown.

However, economists said this intervention was too little, too late, and that the free foodgrain provision should have been universalised to deal with widespread distress.

Credit facilities

Apart from measures for migrant workers, the second tranche announced by the government included an extension of credit facilities for urban housing, street vendors and farmers and an interest subvention scheme for small businesses.

The move to provide free foodgrain for migrant workers is an extension of the Pradhan Mantri Gharib Kalyan Yojana, which provided an additional monthly free rice or wheat allocation of 5 kg per person, and 1 kg of pulse per household from April to June to the 80 crore people with ration cards covered by the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Fact check | Centre’s beneficiary count for COVID-19 relief is faulty

Over the past month, migrant workers and others without ration cards have struggled without access to this free food.

“For those who are non-card holders, meaning they are neither under the NFSA nor are they holders of any State-level cards, they shall be given [this benefit]…And if the person is remaining without card, he can also get it,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

“We are engaging with the State governments to make sure that they know where these migrants are, they can approach them and give them. Because most of these migrants who have no cards are staying in camps run either by the government or by NGOs, and therefore, based on a rough assessment given to us by all the State governments, we think there are about eight crore migrants for whom benefit will reach through this free food grain supply,” she said, adding that this is an initial assessment, and that numbers may change.

Coronavirus | PM CARES makes first allocations

The Finance Minister added that by August 2020, the ration card portability scheme will allow 67 crore NFSA beneficiaries in 23 connected States to use their cards at any ration shop anywhere in the country, allowing migrant workers to access subsidised food away from their home villages. The scheme would cover all beneficiaries by March 2021, she said.

In fact, the One Nation One Ration Card scheme was originally supposed to cover all States by June 2020. As The Hindu had reported last week, Food Ministry data shows that inter-State transactions under the scheme have been very low, around 200 per month, since the lockdown due to poor awareness and the stalling of biometric authentications due to the pandemic.

“The need of the moment was to universalise the Public Distribution System to provide food to whoever needed it, especially since the grains are available in the Centre’s godowns,” said Prof. Jayati Ghosh, who chairs the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Also read | Only 15% of poor households have received 1 kg of pulses promised for April

“If you were going to give free food to migrants, what stopped you from doing this six weeks ago when the lockdown was announced? Did you not know people without ration cards would lose their livelihood and need support? And why wait six weeks just to give this paltry measure?” Prof. Ghosh asked, pointing out that while regular NFSA beneficiaries were receiving 10 kg of grains — their regular allocation, plus the free grains — migrant workers covered by Thursday’s announcement would only receive 5 kg each.

IIM-Ahmedabad professor and economist Reetika Khera, who had calculated that 10 crore people have been excluded from NFSA coverage due to growth since census 2011, pointed out that the new intervention would not even cover that shortfall.

“There are 50 crore people in the country without ration cards, and 10 crore should be covered under NFSA anyway. But there are many people who were managing in normal times, people in the gig economy, autorickshaw drivers, who are in dire straits now. PDS needed to be extended to all these people at this time,” she said, adding that free ration needed to be extended for another three months beyond June.

Dr. Khera welcomed the measure to keep MGNREGA work open during the monsoon, known as the “hungry season”, but asked why there were no steps taken to extend MGNREGA employment guarantee to at least 200 days.

MGNREGA work

For returning migrants who have no means of livelihood back in their home villages, Ms. Sitharaman said State governments had been directed to enrol them under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. She said that 14.6 crore person days of work have been generated under the scheme till May 13, claiming that this was 40-50% higher than work generated in May 2019.

Coronavirus lockdown | Only 30 lakh found MGNREGA work in April

However, MGNREGA data shows that less than 14 crore person days of work have been provided in both April and May 2020 together, while 64 crore person days of work were provided in April and May 2019. A senior Rural Development official clarified that Ms.Sitharaman meant to refer to e-muster roll data, showing that 50% more persondays of work were offered this May.

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familysourceconsultants · 5 years ago

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COVID-19: True Stories from TeamFSC Surrogates

2020 is the year we will never forget. The COVID-19 global pandemic is taking the world by storm; closing schools, businesses and restaurants. Uncertainty and anxiety are record high as people scramble and try to figure out their next move.

Staci Swiderski, CEO of Family Source Consultants, states “As intended parents have been waiting for this day to finally arrive to meet their son or daughter that they have been longing for, now the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is adding a new layer of anxiety for all parties involved. For our intended parents who are approaching their due date via surrogacy, whether domestic or international, it is essential that everyone is prepared for unexpected processes as every hospital and birthing center will differ as most are taking new measures to protect patients and staff, excluding extra people from the delivery room in an effort to keep the gestational surrogate and baby safe.”

FSC is remaining proactive every day to ensure that our intended parents and surrogates are fully prepared and well informed so that they can focus on their journey, pregnancy and soon to be little miracle.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises pregnant women to follow physical distancing guidelines, and thankfully thus far scientists have found no evidence that pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 can transmit it to the baby.

COVID-19 has its way of showing us what’s important in life – family. When looking at the bright side, the stay at home order has given thousands of families an opportunity to cherish one another, make up for lost time and develop deeper bonds. Although, we must not forget the superwomen surrogates who are carrying a miracle in midst of the pandemic.

TeamFSC Surrogates Share Their Story

“Pregnancy is never easy. There are so many unforeseen twists and turns. Although you can’t control what is happening inside utero, you usually can control what happens on the outside. Except when there is a worldwide pandemic.

Appointments must be rescheduled or moved to another location. In my case, this has happened more than twice. I’ve had to see my OB in another location due to a high volume of patients in my usual location. Although it is frustrating, I’m glad that my Dr. has taken her pregnant patients’ health into a higher consideration.

Having no control over when this pandemic will end has me worried about my Intended Parents and what the future holds when baby decides to come. It’s out of our control who can be in the delivery room. It’s out of our control when they can hold their baby for the first time. My heart hurts for their unknown future with the family they have been waiting so long to create. Thankfully, they are always optimistic, and I know they will make the best out of whatever situation is thrown at us.

During this pandemic I lost control of my ability to live life how I want it. With my previous pregnancy I was always out doing something with my family. I had plans of being very active with this surro-baby as well, but all I can do now is take a walk down my block. It’s unfortunate, but I know in other countries they can’t even do that.

There as so many things out of our control during this pandemic. There’s a lot of uncertainty and worries, especially while being a surrogate. Yet, there ways to see the positives. I’m blessed to be able to have my family altogether during this time, making new memories at home, and to be carrying healthy baby. ” – TeamFSC Surrogate, Rebecca – IL

“One blessing during this pandemic is that I have gotten much needed rest. I had a rough first trimester with nausea and being able to relax and not be on the hustle everyday was very helpful. I am not due until October, but I am worried that my Intended Parents might have trouble traveling as they are from China. I am also worried about not having them both present for the birth. I’m praying that around the time of October we will have less restrictions and everything will be smooth.” – TeamFSC Surrogate, Amber – TX

“When I came into surrogacy, I knew but also didn’t know the challenges I’d face until I experienced them firsthand. It is been a great journey so far! I have developed a sweet relationship with my Intended Parents and being only three hours apart, we looked forward to spending some quality time getting to know each other’s families.

When the stay at home order was set in place for COVID -19, all those plans suddenly vanished. There was anxiousness surrounding future appointments, sadness that my Intended Parents could not attend their baby’s 20-week ultrasound and fear of who can be in the delivery room if this whole thing lasts until baby arrives. Although no amount of worry will change the situation, I am thankful and grateful for the love and support from friends and family, my FSC case managers and my sweet intended parents. There’s not a moment of this journey I have felt alone despite the uncertain circumstances.”

–TeamFSC Surrogate, Katie – IN

“No one ever thought any of us would be in the situation the world is in today. Unfortunately, it’s our reality and we are all doing the best we can in this very uncertain and scary time. This is my story about being a Surrogate during this Pandemic.

Our journey started with matching with our amazing Intended Parents back in November 2018. Moving through all the phases of surrogacy we were able to complete the embryo transfer in September 2019. It was a successful double embryo transfer which we were hoping for. Everything was progressing wonderfully, always keeping my IPs up to date on all appointments, any and everything baby related! Never having twins before this was a new process for me in that way too but it everything seemed to go as planned. Fast forward to March 2020 when news started spreading about the Coronavirus and how it was affecting China, Italy and then Spain. Spain is the home of our Intended Parents L&R. When President Trump announced the travel ban it was very hard news to hear. In my mind that was going to make traveling for them extremely difficult if not impossible. But we stayed optimistic and prayed for the best. The Dads have been letting us know how things are going for them and how their dealing with it. We are all just trying to make the best out of this less than ideal situation.

So today I am 33 weeks along with these beautiful little baby girls. I feel so very fortunate to be able to bring these miracles into the world and complete a family. That was the main reason our family decided I would pursue surrogacy. After completing our family with our 3rd child in 2018, I just knew in my heart I had more to give to this world. I do have some reservations, especially now that it’s a very real possibility that the Dads may not be able to be at the hospital for delivery. FSC has been very helpful and extremely reassuring that we will have a solid plan in place for care for the babies if, worst case scenario, the Dads aren’t here in time. Another worry has been due to restrictions at our hospital we will be delivering, I will only be allowed one support person with me during my stay. In addition to that restriction, the support person cannot leave and return to the hospital either. My husband will be my support person which is a change where in my past experiences I was fortunate enough to not only have my husband but my mother and sister as well during delivery. But with keeping a positive attitude, I know we will get us through this. If I was asked again if I would be a surrogate under the same circumstances, I believe I still would. As scary as times are right now, I’m healthy, my family is healthy, the Dads are healthy, and these little miracles are healthy and growing so fast! Before we know it, they will be here with us and I just can’t wait to meet them!” –TeamFSC Surrogate, Lauren – MD

Become a Surrogate Superwoman

There are so many deserving couples and individuals who have not lost hope on building their family, no matter what tragedy they have to face. Now is more important than ever to give back and help those around us. If you, or anyone you know is interested in becoming a TeamFSC Surrogate Superwoman – apply now!

#Surrogacy #coronavirus #covid #covid-19 #covid2020 #surrogates #Surrogacyagency #ivf #infertility #infertilityawareness #ivfgotthis #eggdonor #intendedparents #gayparents

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jobsearchtips02 · 5 years ago

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Carnival’s struggle to survive the coronavirus as outbreak wipes out the cruise industry

The COVID-19 outbreak has laid waste to entire sectors of the global economy, but none faster than the cruise industry. The pandemic has basically shut down the cruise-ship business, with the three largest publicly traded cruise companies suspending some, if not all, of their operations.

Carnival, the world’s largest cruise operator, has been at the heart of the industry’s struggle against the coronavirus. COVID-19 has spread on ships across nearly half of its brands, infecting hundreds of passengers and killing others.

Shares of Carnival are down more than 80% in 2020 alone, and the company said in a securities filing that it couldn’t predict when any of its ships would begin to sail again or when ports would reopen.

Yet, time after time, Carnival has proven resilient, despite seemingly insurmountable setbacks. The company has experienced everything from norovirus outbreaks to fires and capsizes, and it’s still bounced back after every crisis.

Some experts say this time it’s different.

In over 30 years, it’s unprecedented. We’ve never seen these types of warnings really ever.

Stewart Chiron

Cruise Industry Expert

For one thing, the government has effectively temporarily cancelled an entire industry. The State Department has advised that no American should set foot on a cruise ship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which typically issues health warnings about certain regions of the world, not forms of transportation, has warned travelers against all cruise travel worldwide.

“In over 30 years, it’s unprecedented. We’ve never seen these types of warnings really ever,” said cruise industry expert Stewart Chiron.

Also different this time around — unlike past viral outbreaks aboard ships — passengers have been forced to quarantine on an unprecedented scale either in their rooms on the ships or at U.S. military bases after disembarking.

Carnival is rapidly hemorrhaging money, and so far, the U.S. government has made it clear that it won’t be helping to bail them out. The question now: Is Carnival too big to fail?

Why Carnival keeps rebounding

Shares of the three largest publicly traded cruise line companies — Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian — are all down more than 80% so far this year, putting the valuations of the big three at multiyear lows.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment, and Norwegian declined to comment.

Carnival is no stranger to calamity, and when its stock price has taken a hit, it has shown it can recover.

Over the years, the company has faced every disaster you can envision, from viral outbreaks, to colliding ships, flooding, and fires. But perhaps its two biggest scars are the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 passengers, and an engine-room fire that left the Carnival Triumph without power for days, causing toilets to backup and human waste to overflow into rooms and hallways. That so-called “poop cruise” gripped global media.

Carnival wasn’t defeated. It sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into upgrading its systems across the fleet, and it gave the Carnival Triumph its own $200 million makeover, plus a new name.

After each one of these crises, Carnival’s stock mostly rebounded. Lately, things haven’t been looking quite as good for Carnival’s stock. It has been steadily declining since 2018 and began 2020 at a lower share price than in 2016. On Tuesday, Carnival announced it would suspend dividend payments.

Credit rating agency S&P downgraded Carnival on March 13 and says it’s continuing to monitor the company for further downgrades.

The fundamentals

Despite the onslaught of bad news, Carnival still dominates the market. It is the world’s largest cruise operator, accounting for nearly 50% of all cruise passengers. It also enjoys a stronger balance sheet than its rivals.

Until the outbreak of COVID-19, sales for Carnival had been strong, rising every year since 2015, and up more than 10% from fiscal year 2018 to 2019. That’s nearly double the revenue of Royal Caribbean and more than three times Norwegian’s sales in fiscal year 2019. Net profit also dwarfs the competition, though the company has been struggling to maintain growth.

Carnival’s long-term viability ahead of the outbreak was also promising. As of the end of fiscal year 2019, Carnival’s debt-to-equity ratio, a measure used to help evaluate a company’s risk, was 45.3%, which is considered a good balance between what it owes and what it owns.

Compare that to its two chief rivals. Norwegian and Royal Caribbean’s debt-to-equity ratios are around 100%. Both took on a lot of debt, at a time when debt was cheap, which may prove difficult to pay back during a rough patch like this.

Carnival has its own debt payments coming due, not to mention the fresh injection of new debt it took on last week, and the $4.8 billion it’s committed to spending on new ships in 2020.

On top of the $518 million in cash it already had on hand, Carnival tapped its entire $3 billion credit facility, and it is trying to raise over $6 billion in stock and debt. However, Carnival said it needs about $1 billion a month to keep operating, according to an April 3 securities filing.

Getting credit investors on board comes at great cost to the company. The bulk of this new financing is from bonds paying investors 11.5%, an interest rate typically seen in the junk bond market.

“The cost of financing was particularly onerous, given this is an investment-grade entity with a substantial amount of collateral coverage,” said John McClain, a portfolio manager at Diamond Hill Capital. “Its collateral coverage is 86 vessels, plus intellectual property, with a net book value north of $28 billion. Historically, this would give a huge amount of confidence.”

The future

Some have compared the current plight of the cruise industry to that of the airlines, when the government closed airports following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Travel demand tanked, and several major American airlines declared bankruptcy, despite receiving federal aid.

For the moment, it doesn’t look as though the U.S. government will be coming to the rescue of any of the major cruise lines. The $2 trillion relief package excludes companies which are not incorporated in the U.S. and don’t have significant operations in and a majority of its employees based in the U.S.

Carnival, for example, is headquartered in Miami, its shares trade on the NYSE, but it is actually incorporated in Panama. Cruise lines also tend to hire foreign workers who don’t always fall under the protection of American minimum wage requirements.

Industry experts think that, unlike past outbreaks, COVID-19 will fundamentally alter the cruising model.

An image of Carnival Splendor cruise ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay on March 22, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.

Izhar Kahn | NurPhoto | Getty Images

“Even under the best case scenario where there’s containment of this virus, it could literally take up to a year for things to get back to any semblance of normalcy,” said Tuna Amobi, senior media analyst at CFRA Research.

To try to salvage sales while the industry is effectively dormant, cruise lines are looking to revive their post-pandemic travel seasons, slashing ticket prices in order to lure customers.

“Cruising is pretty affordable, and the allure of cheap travel options will continue to drive new cruisers, despite the pandemic. Cruise lines are going to be offering unbelievable deals,” said McClain.

Also promising: Americans love to go on cruises.

Before the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a standstill, 2020 was poised to be a record-breaking year for the business. The industry was expecting to carry more than 32 million passengers, almost twice as many as in 2009. And they’re getting younger travelers on board, with 71% of millennials having a more positive attitude about cruising compared to 2017, according to Cruise Lines International Association.

Still, some analysts remain bearish on the industry’s ability to recover.

“If you look at the whole tourism segment, I think that this is going to be painful for all of them, but airlines will likely recover. People will get back on planes. I think that hotels will also recover. But I think cruises may actually have a hard time,” said Gina Sanchez, founder and CEO of Chantico Global.

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/carnivals-struggle-to-survive-the-coronavirus-as-outbreak-wipes-out-the-cruise-industry/

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patriotsnet · 4 years ago

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Is Economy Better Under Democrats Or Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/is-economy-better-under-democrats-or-republicans/

Is Economy Better Under Democrats Or Republicans

Democratic Presidents Are Better For The Stock Market And Economy Than Republicans One Study Shows

Contrary to popular belief, the stock market and economy have performed better under Democratic presidents than it has under Republican presidents, according to data going back to 1946.

Liberum, a UK-based investment bank, pointed to historical stock market returns and annual GDP growth to make the case that a Republican president’s drive to cut taxes and reduce government spending often leads to lower economic expansion and stock market returns than when a Democratic president is in office.

Since 1947, the S&P 500 has posted a total annual return of 10.8% under Democratic presidents, versus 5.6% under Republican presidents.

And if you exclude the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic, both of which happened under a Republican president, the data still points to stronger returns for Democratic presidents versus Republican presidents.

Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

It’s a widely held view that Republican presidents are better for the economy and stock market than Democratic presidents, because of their drive to cut taxes and reduce government spending. But the data says otherwise.

According to an August 21 note from Liberum, a UK-based investment bank, historical stock market returns and gross domestic product data points to a stronger economic expansion under Democratic presidents than under Republican presidents.

Read more: RBC says buy these 48 stocks spanning every industry that are poised to crush the market if Donald Trump wins reelection

Bush Was The Last President To Inherit A Budget Surplus And Started Running A Deficit Obama Cut It Though Trump Ran Bigger Ones As A Result Of His Tax Cuts And The Federal Response To The Pandemic

The federal deficit is the gap between tax revenue and federal spending. During periods of growth, the deficit tends to shrink because government spending on safety net benefits lessens.

Bush inherited a budget surplus of $128 billion for fiscal year 2001. It was the last time the US had money left over. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a series of tax cuts, erased it and increased the deficit.

Obama ran large deficits to end the Great Recession, passing an $830 billion stimulus package in 2009. He later cut the deficit over half by the time he left office.

Similar to Obama and Bush, Trump has also relied on deficit spending. It widened by $1.5 trillion with the passage of the 2017 GOP tax cuts, contrary to the administration’s claims that the law would pay for itself.

The pandemic, however, prompted $3 trillion in federal spending many economists say was needed to address the public health and economic crises.

Does The Economy Do Better Under Democrats Or Republicans

In the rough and tumble of presidential campaigns — rougher this year than ever before — facts are sometimes lost in the debate. But one fact that voters should keep in mind — one that is incontrovertible — is that the U.S. economy performs better under Democratic presidents than Republican ones.

Conservatives have long claimed that they are better stewards of the economy. Most recently, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump promised to be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” They have repeated these claims so relentlessly and with such confidence that millions of Americans believe them to be true. The record shows otherwise.

Research from Princeton University economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson finds that, since World War II, the economy has performed substantially better by virtually every measure when Democrats have been in the White House. GDP growth, job creation and industrial production have all been stronger during Democratic administrations than during Republican ones.

As the Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, I asked my staff to review the Blinder and Watson findings. They were able to update and build on the economists’ analysis and found that on average since World War II, real GDP has grown about 1.6 times faster and private-sector jobs have grown nearly 2.5 times faster under Democrats than Republicans.

Let’s let the real debate over the economy begin.

Which Presidents Have Delivered The Best Stock Returns So Far Democrats Are Dominating

According to Siegel, author of the 1994 investment classic Stocks For The Long Run, Wall Streets obsession with politics is mostly misplaced: Bull markets and bear markets come and go, and its more to do with business cycles than presidents. In some ways the current environment has characteristics of the existential threat faced by George W. Bush post-2001 , the civil unrest that plagued the Johnson and Nixon administrations and Ronald Reagans trade war with Japan in the 1980s.

In an effort to more closely examine the relationship between the actions of a president and the direction of stocks, Forbes has analyzed their stock market performances, including dividends, dating back to Harry Truman. Using data from the National Bureau of Economic Research , weve also noted for each president the number of expansions and recessions that began during their tenures. In some cases like the presidency of Bill Clinton, who was in office during one of the most impressive periods of economic prosperity in history, you won’t see an expansion listed. Thats because credit is awarded to the president who was in office during its inception, which in this case was George H.W. Bush. We also included the ratio of gross federal debt to GDP for the final year of each presidency.

Presidential portraits courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

Donating = Changing Economics And Changing The World

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Whos Better For The Economy: Democrats Or Republicans

Who does a better job at managing the American economy: Democrats or Republicans?

Whose policies help the country and whose policies hurt it? Who should get credit when things are going well and who should take the blame when the economy slips?

But before we use the EPI to answer the question, we have to figure out how to measure the problem. It is impossible to break down every piece of legislation to see how it affected the performance of the overall economy. We can examine a few key policies, but that doesnt really answer whether one political party does a better job altogether; it only sheds light on that particular piece of legislationone small piece of a very big puzzle.

So how do we measure the effectiveness of one partys politics?

Do Dems Run The Economy Better Nope

Its a Democratic campaign consultants dream: a study from two respected academic economists concluding that, since the late 1940s, the economy has consistently performed better under Democratic presidents than under Republican ones. The gap is huge. From 1949 to 2013 a period when the White House was roughly split between parties the economy grew at an average annual rate of 3.33 percent, but growth under Democratic presidents averaged 4.35 percent and under Republicans, 2.54 percent. Jobs, stocks and living standards all advanced faster under Democrats.

Not surprisingly, one of the reports authors is a well-known Democratic economist, Alan Blinder, a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve now at Princeton University; the other author, Mark Watson, also at Princeton, is a highly regarded scholar of economic statistics who describes himself as nonpartisan. More interesting, Blinder and Watson dont credit the Democratic advantage to superior policies.

Democrats would no doubt like to attribute the large growth gap to macroeconomic policy choices, but the data do not support such a claim, they write. Most economists, they note, doubt presidents can control the economy.

So if presidents didnt do it, who or what did? Blinder and Watson march through economic studies. Their conclusion: About half of the Democrats advantage reflected good luck favorable outside events or trends. Three dominate.

Conservatives Love To Tout Their Economic Bona Fides But The Data Reveal A Far Different Story

As the 2016 election cycle heats up, the key question at stake for most Americans is economic growth and jobs. The debate, then, will center around what to do with the fragile recovery that overwhelmingly benefits the rich; the stagnation of middle class incomes; and unemployment — which, particularly for young people of color, remains dispiritingly high.

The right likes to argue that these conditions mark a clear failure of progressive policies, and in particular of the Obama administration. In the process, they reject policies that have, however imperfect, unequivocally strengthened the economy over the past seven years, such as the stimulus packages that came in response to the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, while conservatives often claim that their policies are good for the middle class, systematic studies by economists, political scientists and sociologists suggest these claims are overblown.

Economic Growth

At the heart of the question is economic growth: Which party is better at delivering it?

While economic growth alone is not sufficient for middle class and working class income growth, it is certainly necessary. The most systematic investigation of how parties affect economic growth was performed by economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson. Their results are unequivocal:

Inequality

The chart below suggests this effect is driven by both market conditioning and redistribution .

Unemployment

Taxes

Race

So Democrats Are Worse

We look at the differences in economic scores between Democrats and Republicans and judge it to be a draw. The Democrats score may reflect that they had to manage the economy under difficult circumstances, including the Great Depression and the Great Recession. Then again, Republicans enjoyed a booming economy during the Roaring Twenties and the late 90s. If we could control for those shocks, we might find the two parties positions switched. Moreover, our approach cannot establish causality . All we can view is the correlation .However, we could use a regression analysis to look for time connections between one party coming to power and the subsequent performance of the economy. This approach would actually allow us to look for empirical causality. We wanted to isolate economic policies from exogenous shocks, so that we were truly comparing apples to apples. Democrats would not be docked for the Great Depression and WWII, while the Republicans would not get a boost from globalization, etc.

To do this, we subtracted the smoothed trend from the EPI scores. Then, we conducted a regression of the EPI deviation from its trend against the IPP.

This way, there could be no disputing whether the economy was up or down because of factors beyond the respective partys control.

Our regression analysis found no statistically significant causality. Which is fine and happens often.

Diversify Into Real Estate

Stock market performance has been strong over time. The same can be said for real estate. Given interest rates have come way down, the value of rental income and cash flow have gone way up. Therefore, Im personally buying multifamily properties and rental properties for capital appreciation and income. Stocks also tend to be more volatile than real estate.

One of the best ways to invest in real estate is through real estate crowdfunding. My favorite two real estate crowdfunding platforms are:

Fundrise: A way for accredited and non-accredited investors to diversify into real estate through private eREITs. Fundrise has been around since 2012 and has consistently generated steady returns, no matter what the stock market is doing.

CrowdStreet: A way for accredited investors to invest in individual real estate opportunities mostly in 18-hour cities. 18-hour cities are secondary cities with lower valuations, higher rental yields. They also have potentially higher growth due to job growth and demographic trends.

Ive personally invested $810,000 in real estate crowdfunding since 2016 to diversify my investments. Its nice to earn income 100% passively as I spend more time taking care of my children.

Filed Under: Investments

I spent 13 years working at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. In 1999, I earned my BA from William & Mary and in 2006, I received my MBA from UC Berkeley.

Current recommendations:

The Index Of Political Power

It stands to reason that the more policy-making positions one party holds, the more policies that party will implement. If one party controls a majority of Congress, for example, then more of that partys policies will likely get passed than the other partys. Therefore, we could measure how many positions each party held, and then use that as a proxy to assume that more of that partys ideas were being enacted.

Obviously, such a measure should include the legislative bodies of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Since the president signs or vetoes legislation into law, that position should be included, too. Even though the Supreme Court can overturn a law, we should not include the judicial body. Many of its decisions are related to social policies rather than economic ones; its impact on the economy, as far as this Index is concerned, is negligible.

However, there is another area outside of legislative control that we should include in this proxy measure: the monetary policy. As we explained earlier, the countrys monetary stance is a critical component of the economys performance. But Congress does not control monetary policythe Federal Reserve does. By tradition, the Fed follows the decisions of its chairman. In effect, the nations monetary policy is determined by one individual. Logically, then, we should include the political party of this position, too.

our Index of Political Power

Recessions And The White House

The statement by Occupy Democrats runs from the Ronald Reagan presidency, which began in January 1981, to the present.

But by using the phrase “has overseen” in connection with a recession, the statement is less than precise as to whether it refers to a recession that began during a president’s term or whether he has had to deal with a recession in his time in office.

Likewise, applying the phrase “has overseen” to a strong recovery by the Democrats leaves it unclear as to whether the statement means a president started the recovery or inherited an ongoing recovery, as President Donald Trump did from President Barack Obama.

The interpretation of the phrase “has overseen” complicates the process of fact-checking it. Obama inherited a recession from Bush II that began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, according to NBER, the longest economic downturn since World War II.

Under that Reagan-to-Trump timeline, the Republican presidencies had four recessions start in their terms: one each under Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and two under George W. Bush. By contrast, Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had zero.

With the economic downturn created by the coronavirus pandemic, a recession is likely to be declared after the latest GDP data is released, sometime in July. We may be in one now, but it has not been deemed official.

Wages Grew Steadily Under Bush And Slowed Under Obama They Started Picking Up Again Under Trump But The Pandemic’s Impact Skewed This Year’s Data

Wage growth is usually a good indicator of how much the economy is benefiting average workers. But the chart above illustrates the shortfalls of relying too much on a single metric given the devastation that the pandemic has caused.

Wage gains were steady for most of the Bush administration, ranging between 2% and 4% each year. Then it took a hit during the Great Recession, and wage growth was anemic for much of the Obama presidency.

The initial years of the Trump presidency coincided with a rise in wages as the economy expanded and employers competed to hire workers. They grew above 3% starting in 2018.

Millions of low-wage workers were sidelined in the early months of the pandemic, while many higher-wage white collar workers were able to continue working remotely.

It artificially dragged up the average wage for those still able to work, according to an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. It’s expected to drop as more hourly workers regain their jobs.

Want A Better Economy Elect A Democratic President

I enjoyed David Leonhardts opinion piece in the New YorkTimes today including graphic evidence that the econmomy performed better under Democratic presidents for the last century.

A president has only limited control over the economy. And yet there has been a stark pattern in the United States for nearly a century. The economy has grown significantly faster under Democratic presidents than Republican ones.

Its true about almost any major indicator: gross domestic product, employment, incomes, productivity, even stock prices. Its true if you examine only the precise period when a president is in office, or instead assume that a presidents policies affect the economy only after a lag and dont start his economic clock until months after he takes office. The gap holds almost regardless of how you define success, two economics professors at Princeton, Alan Blinder and Mark Watson, write. They describe it as startlingly large.

Accompanying graphics tell the story, with a couple shown here.

My dad, a yellow-dog Democrat stockbroker in southern Louisiana, preached this to me until his dying day. His evidence was only anecdotal, of course, but very tangible.

The Historical Precedent For Job Gains Is Mixed

The economy didn’t substantially add jobs early on in Bush’s presidency. But it started picking up until the 2008 financial crisis.

The Obama administration moved to stem those job losses early on in his term, and the economy stabilized in 2010. With the recovery underway, employers added jobs, coming out to an average of 224,000 gains per month in Obama’s last three years.

Job growth during the Trump presidency had mostly matched its pace under Obama before 2020. In the first three years up to February, the economy added 182,000 jobs monthly on average.

But pandemic-related job losses left a crater in the economy. Many experts say it will take several years for the labor market to recover from the blow.

Everyone Does Better When The Presidents A Democrat

The numbers dont lie. The question is why every Democrat isnt talking about this all the time.

Photo Illustration by Lyne Lucien/The Daily Beast/Getty

Our two political parties have certain identities that are seared into our collective public brain. Democrats: the party of workers, of civil rights, of compassion and fairness, and of higher taxes and more regulation. Republicans: party of the rich, big business , the free market, and lower taxes and less regulation.

And because the GOP is the party of big business, it is universally assumed that Republicans are better at handling the economy. Polls typically find that people trust Democrats more on all the things that government does, which stands to reason, but trust Republicans more on handling the economy. Just last week I saw a poll in which respondents rated Biden as better equipped than Trump to handle race relations, the virus response, and two or three other things; but on the economy, Trump bested Biden 51-46.

Its hard wired, and its wrong. Dead wrong.

Simon Rosenberg heads , a liberal think tank and advocacy organization. He has spent years advising Democrats, presidents included, on how to talk about economic matters. Not long ago, he put together a little PowerPoint deck. It is fascinating. You need to know about it. The entire country needs to know about it.

The deck consists of about 15 slides, but Ill walk you through just six so you get the idea. Lets start with job creation under each president:

Financial Planning Under President Joe Biden

With Joe Biden as president, financial planning comes full circle. I retired under President Obama and I plan to retire again under Joe Biden.

Because the Democrats have control of both houses and the presidency, more taxes will be passed. There will also be more spending to help all citizens. As a result, I plan to take things down a notch once I get vaccinated or once taxes go up, whichever comes first.

Im tired of the hustle during the pandemic. Instead, I want to spend my money and live it up more. I think everybody is.

Luckily for investors, stocks and real estate have performed well during the pandemic. Therefore, we have an even larger cushion to live our lives as freely as possible.

Biden Versus Trump Some Speculate That The Future Of The Republic Hinges On The Outcome Of The Next Election But For Smart Investors It Doesn’t Really Matter Who Wins

Conventional wisdom says that those liberal Dems are generally bad for the economy and the stock market because of their big government tendencies, while fiscally conservative Republicans are good. This widely accepted belief is actually fake news if you look at data going back to the end of World War II.

Stock markets do perform better under Democrats than under Republicans. Thats a well-known fact, but it does not imply cause and effect, says Jeremy Siegel, the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1952 through June 2020, annualized real stock market returns under Democrats have been 10.6% compared with 4.8% for Republicans.

With the 2020 election less than four months away, some investors are fretting about the pros and cons of a Trump vs. Biden presidency. A Democratic sweep would almost certainly mean a rollback of Trumps massive corporate tax cut , but additional economic stimulus and stability on the China trade front would be a big positive.

Clinton: Economy Better Under Democrats

Hillary Clinton says the U.S. economy does better with a Democrat in the White House, citing research by two Princeton economists. But the authors of that report do not credit Democratic fiscal policies for the economic growth.

In fact, the authors say our empirical analysis does not attribute any of the partisan growth gap to fiscal or monetary policy.

Clinton has made the claim numeroustimes in recent weeks usually in the context of her economic plan, as she did during the first Democratic debate.

Clinton, Oct. 13: I have a five-point economic plan, because this inequality challenge we face, we have faced it at other points. Its absolutely right. It hasnt been this bad since the 1920s. But if you look at the Republicans versus the Democrats when it comes to economic policy, there is no comparison. The economy does better when you have a Democrat in the White House and thats why we need to have a Democrat in the White House in January 2017.

Clinton expounded on that talking point the following day during a speech in Las Vegas.

When we asked for backup, the Clinton campaign pointed us to academic research by two Princeton economists titled, Presidents and the U.S. Economy: An Econometric Exploration. The authors, Alan S. Blinder and Mark W. Watson, concluded after researching an array of economic statistics that the economy has performed much better when a Democrat is president than when a Republican is.

Why Does The Us Economy Perform Better Under Democrats Than Republicans

Since Carter, no Democratic President has had a recession begin on their watch. At the same time, no Republican President including the single term Presidents has gotten through their time in the White House without a recession.

Despite the widely held belief that Republicans are better at managing the economy than Democrats, the history of the United States economy tells a different story. In nearly every metric one might use to measure performance, Democratic presidents have presided over greater economic growth.

Strikingly, this is not even by a slight margin. According to a paper published in 2013 by Princeton economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson, the performance gap is startlingly large so much so that it strains credulity, given how little influence over the economy most economists assign to the President of the United States.

The pair suggests that this is not due to time sensitive matters or partisan fiscal or monetary policy. Instead, they attribute this gap in large part to benign oil shocks, superior TFP performance, and more optimistic consumer expectations.

In short, they chalk it up to one part luck, another part self-fulfilling prophecy whereby consumers anticipate the economy will flourish under a Democratic leader and then drive the economy upward and a third part thats, well, a mystery.

Still, they say that it is highly unlikely that the D-R growth gap was just luck.

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